Holly Black and the Reflection of Fear
by Somniac
Summary: "...When we stare into the depths of knowledge, the depths stare into us, and we are never left unchanged." Holly Potter, raised by her godfather and known to the world as Holly Black, heads to Hogwarts with a single goal. To become the greatest duellist that ever lived. Warnings; AU, Fem!Harry, descriptions of death, eventual horror themes.
1. Chapter 1

-Authors Note-

A few notes before we begin.

This story is intended to be read in 1/2 width view.

Everything Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling and we thank her for allowing us to play with it.

The only change worth noting for the initial chapter is that;

The Potters, as they were in the midst of a war, did not tell anyone that they were expecting a child. They went into hiding as soon as they found out that Lily was pregnant. Peter, Sirius, and Remus were the only three that knew aside from Dumbledore who agreed to cast the Fidelius to protect them. As in canon, the Potters were convinced to make Pettigrew the secret keeper.

Lily gave birth to a baby girl after they had been in hiding for several months and they named her Holly.

* * *

Holly Black and the Reflection of Fear

 _Prologue._

31st October 1981

Not many things surprised Albus Dumbledore.

And so when he realized that he knew the whereabouts of the Potter's cottage, when by all rights he should not, he was to put it lightly, surprised.

"Albus?"

He turned to the other man who was now watching him, curiosity written across his lined face. Albus had been in the process of saying something, and had apparently frozen mid sentence.

"The Potters," he croaked "Their secret is broken."

Saying nothing more, he vanished with a quiet 'pop!'. It took the other two men a moment to simply process the situation before they too both vanished.

Albus heard the simultaneous 'pop!' of the two men apparating to Godric's Hollow behind him.

"Peter," Sirius said from somewhere behind him, his voice hoarse. "I told them to take Peter as their keeper-"

The younger man cut himself off mid sentence. Albus was already moving, long strides carrying him up the garden path and towards the Potter residence. The splintered remains of the front door explained Sirius' sudden silence. Before Albus was even halfway up the garden path, an ear-splitting explosion rocked the sleepy village and a wave of force slammed in to him. The roof of the Potter residence was obliterated in a blinding green fireball. The noise tore through the silent village, shattering windows and whipping Albus' hair around his face.

Distant sounds of dogs barking and windows shattering were drowned out by Sirius' bellow of denial as he and Remus charged past Albus and in to the house. He felt a hot wash of anguish hit him as he passed Remus cradling James' body at the foot of the stairs. He reached the second floor; where the explosion had come from in time to see Sirius enter the ruined doorway that used to lead to the nursery. For the second time that night, Albus Dumbledore heard a noise that would haunt him for many years. A raw howl of confusion and loss coming from Sirius that confirmed Lily's death for him before he ever saw her body.

He entered the nursery to find it almost unrecognizable. The entire roof, and most of the northern wall as simply gone, the brightly coloured wallpaper seemed to have been bleached by some force or magic and Lily lay dead in front of an empty crib. Sirius was cradling a crying baby and trying to soothe the child, even while tears freely fell from his own face.

There was one more thing out of place in the nursery of course. The withered, charred form of Tom Riddle, frozen in apparent agony and very, very, dead.

"Peter!" the sound of spellfire echoed from downstairs. "Peter! Don't you run! COWARD!"

At the sound of Remus' voice Sirius started towards the door, crying child still in his arms but Dumbledore stopped him.

"No! Sirius you must take Holly and hide! No one can know." Albus gripped Sirius by both shoulders.

Both grown men now had tears falling down their faces. Pain and indecision were written clear on Sirius' face.

"Sirius, listen to me! Only the order knew about her! _He_ may be dead but _his followers_ are not, and they will want revenge! We don't know what happened here but if people learn that James and Lily had a child and _she_ survived this?" He left implication hanging. "It's the only way that we can be sure she will be safe!"

Sirius stared into the blue eyes of Albus Dumbledore before he nodded just once and spoke, his voice cracking as he did so.

"Don't let him live, Albus."

As Sirius, crying baby held tightly to his chest, disapparated, Albus turned on his heel and swept downstairs. Following the sounds of spellfire and Remus Lupin's yells of rage was not difficult and he caught up with him less than a field away.

"Albus he's an Animagus!" Remus called as he noticed the headmaster catching up with him, and caring no more for what was once a closely kept secret between friends.

"He's a _filthy, traitorous, rat_!" Remus punctuated each of his roars with another jet of light aimed towards the scampering rodent form that was Peter Pettigrew. Peter dove one way and scurried the other, dodging for his life as white-hot spellfire crackled past his sensitive ears.

Peter was heading for the old stone wall ahead, and the dense woodland that sat just beyond it. If he could make it to the wall, to the forest, he could escape. He could hide. He picked his spot, a small hole near the bottom of the wall, big enough for a housecat and clearly used by other animals as a pathway to and from the forest. Diving for it in one last desperate bid, he saw Remus' spell impact harmlessly into the ground beside him and he would have wept in relief for his freedom, had Albus' spell not hit him squarely in the back.

Albus Dumbledore, being the man that he was, could not simply look away and allow Remus to murder his once-childhood-friend. Not even when Remus assured him that it was what he wanted.

He knew well what would happen to Remus if a registered werewolf were to kill an unarmed wizard. The Ministry was hardly subtle about their prejudice and Remus would spend the rest of his life in Azkaban, so no, he could not allow that. Not even when Remus assured him that it was _still_ what he wanted.

The Daily Prophet the next day carried a large picture on the front page of a younger James and Lily Potter with their arms around each other, taken a few months after their graduation from Hogwarts. There were no more recent photographs available.

* * *

The Daily Prophet.

November 1st, 1981

DARK LORD VANQUISHED!

James and Lily Potter, shown above, have heroically given their lives to successfully defeat the Dark Lord.

He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was confirmed to have been defeated on All Hallows 'Eve, in an interview by Albus Dumbledore, who was one of the first on the scene.

The country mourns and celebrates in equal measures tonight as tributes and thanks pour in from all over the country for the Potters. The Ministry has stated that both James and Lily will be receiving the Order Of Merlin, 1st class posthumously, in recognition for the ultimate sacrifice that they both gave in the line of justice.

Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement revealed earlier today that in a tragic turn, James and Lily Potter had been betrayed by their longtime friend Peter Pettigrew, who had lead He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to the Potter's home in Godric's Hollow.

Thankfully through the actions of the Albus Dumbledore and another, who asked to remain unidentified, Pettigrew is now in the custody of the Auror department.

Peter Pettigrew, for conspiring with Death Eaters, Supporting a Dark Lord and betraying both James and Lily Potter to their deaths, has been sentenced to receive the Dementor's-Kiss on the 2nd November 1981, and to live out the rest of his days in Azkaban prison… (more on pages 2-5, Interviews pages 6-11).

* * *

The copy of the newspaper lay unopened on the coffee table at Grimmauld Place as Albus, Remus, Sirius, and Andromeda sat, without speaking in the lounge. The only two noises that disturbed the room were the heavy drumbeat of the grandfather clock and the quiet gurgling of the toddler that was crawling at Sirius' feet. The four adults sat in silence watching as she, one hand gripping at Sirius' trouser-leg, one grabbing at the plush sofa he was sat on, attempted to stand upright.

It had already been decided that he would take her. Both men loved the small girl as though she was their own but it had to be Sirius. Remus could not take her with his condition. More than this though, Sirius was her godfather. Lily and James had trusted him with that. He would pour everything he was into making sure that Holly Potter lived a happy and full life. He reached down a hand to help the girl stand and she grabbed at him happily.

"Pagger!" she gurgled as her hand wound around his thumb. Not for the first time that day he felt the threat of tears sting his eyes.

"I shall make sure that the necessary changes are made to the Ministry paperwork without anyone knowing." Albus said, looking away from the child and out of the living room window. Outside the last of the leaves were falling from the trees in Grimmauld Square as autumn faded to winter. Hogwarts had already seen its first touches of snow but London was still mild. Honestly, Dumbledore found that he was dreading going back to his school later. The castle was far too quiet this year.

"Holly Black," Remus said. He smiled weakly at the girl holding Sirius' hand and taking clumsy steps. "Never thought I'd see you with a child Padfoot."

"...Neither did I Moony."

"You will make a good father Sirius," Remus said, turning serious. "I know you will."

"I'll have help. Andromeda is besotted with her already."

"She was well behaved all day, I'll help any time," Andromeda said, with a smile at the black haired child.

Albus was glad that they had decided to involve Andromeda. The woman had a daughter of her own and would be an invaluable source of help for Sirius. Besides, she would be Holly's aunt from now on.

Sirius was now helping Holly climb onto the sofa. She squished her hands happily into the faded red leather once she had climbed onto it. Albus observed them and saw that Remus was likely correct. It was difficult to remember that the two men in the room with him were only twenty-one years old. They both looked so mature today. All three men still wore the dark, formal robes that they had worn to the funeral. Holly was currently trying to shove a fistful of Sirius' shirt into her mouth.

"I hate to turn the conversation to this, but I believe that Tom Riddle's defeat may only be a setback." Silence reigned at Albus' grave words. "He was obsessed with death for his final years in Hogwarts and at the time I didn't think more of it. After he revealed himself as a Dark Lord well, I was too busy fighting the man to worry about how he spent his school days."

Dumbledore sighed as he stood up, and began pacing towards the empty fireplace. For a long moment he said nothing more and the silence was only broken by the sounds of Holly trying to eat Sirius' robes, without much success.

"Tom Riddle feared death from a very young age. He feared death with such an intensity that I think it is likely that he took steps against it. We may not hear anything for many years or indeed at all. There remains though, a chance that one day he will return." Dumbledore said, still facing away from the room and into the empty grate of the fireplace.

"What are you saying, Albus?" Remus asked.

"I don't know for sure yet. I've got a lot of research to do. For now though, Holly's identity should stay between the members of this room. To everyone else, no matter who they are, she is Sirius' daughter."

"I won't keep it a secret from her. Holly deserves to know who her parents were." Sirius said, after a while.

"That's for the best I think, she will have to know at some point. Easier that she understands as early as she can." Albus said, before giving them all a last smile and taking a pinch of Floo Powder from the mantlepiece. "I'll owl each of you once the Ministry is dealt with."

Each of the adults in the room nodded or waved in an unspoken farewell to the Headmaster as he stepped into the fireplace. The roar of flame subsided along with Albus' words of 'The Ministry of Magic.'

Holly Black drooled onto her father's robes as her legs, unused to standing properly, gave out under her. She huffed and Sirius scooped her into his arms while Remus and Andromeda watched the pair quietly.

* * *

-Author's note-

It is likely that there will be influences from several of my favourite works of fiction throughout this story. The Cosmere novels by Brandon Sanderson and The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss, in particular, have had heavy influences. Their excellent use of magic systems and general quality are what inspire me most to write. The works of H. P. Lovecraft deserve a mention here too although, I'm aiming to write an adventure with horror elements. Meaning the Lovecraftian elements will be less evident, at least in the beginning.

The story that I am writing could be seen as a darker version of canon. In tone, it could be compared The Witcher series, which I have also taken inspiration from for many of the magical creatures that I plan to use throughout this story.

I have a rough outline for 7 'books' that will follow the main character throughout her Hogwarts education.

Many of the important canon plot points that rewrites generally use are going to be discarded, the world is similar, but I aim to give a fresh story that I hope will be enjoyable.

Voldemort never made _multiple_ Horcruxes in this story. In fact, if he had attempted to it would likely have ended poorly for him; a magical ritual that involves tearing your soul apart understandably carries a hefty toll. It is used only by the most desperate or insane as a safeguard.

There are a few miscellaneous character differences from canon that may not be immediately evident. The rise of Voldemort in this story was more brutal and bloody. There are some minor characters that have been killed off early because of this. An example being Walburga Black who died alongside her husband rather than living an additional seven years. Among other things, this means that Sirius was left as the head of the House of Black at a slightly younger age.


	2. Chapter 2

Holly Black and the Reflection of Fear

 _Chapter 2._

31st July 1983.

"Happy birthday Holly," Sirius said with a grin. He offered the now-three-year-old girl a lumpy package. The brightly coloured wrapping paper, covered with little broomsticks and snitches, was no match for Holly Black. Before long Sirius, Holly and the sofa they sat on were all covered in broomstick and snitch coloured confetti. Holly held up her trophy happily. A miniature broomstick, styled after a racing broom.

"Broom!"

"Do you want to ride it?" Sirius said, knowing the answer well in advance.

"Ride broom!"

The broom was designed for toddlers and so it only rose about a foot off the ground and moved slightly faster than an adult could leisurely walk. Completely safe for children. It was about five minutes later that Holly broke the lamp. Sirius spent the next hour running around after the laughing child, trying to ensure she wasn't going to hurt herself. As much as he hated to admit it, he actually hoped that Holly would grow up with no interest in Quidditch. Watching her lightly bump off the skirting boards as she flew around the lounge was bad enough. The idea of watching Holly on a real broomstick in a few years time terrified him.

* * *

31st July 1985.

"Happy birthday Holly," Sirius said, his voice a whisper as he leaned over the back of the sofa and brushed a lock of black hair from the sleeping girls face.

"You're late. She stayed up 'till eleven waiting for you." Andromeda said.

Sirius looked up from Holly to take in Andromeda, sitting in the chair across from them. The fireplace next to her was the only source of light in the room. It bathed a warm circle around the sofa and chairs set around it but left the rest of the room in shadow. Andromeda had a copy of The Daily Prophet open on her lap and a mug of something that was gently steaming in her hands. A pained look crossed Sirius' face for a moment.

"There was a disturbance at The Hogs Head."

"And that warranted the Aurors? Merlin, you look like shit Sirius, what happened?" Andromeda said, catching a look at her cousins face properly now as he stepped fully into the dim room and started to remove his coat.

"Started as a bar fight, some kid started throwing around unforgivables and it went downhill from there."

"Sirius is that _blood?_ " Andromeda said slowly.

Sirius having removed his coat and thrown himself down into an unoccupied chair by the fire looked down at his shirt. He tried to give Andromeda a nonchalant smile. She simply stared at him with her eyebrows raised and a look that said she wasn't going to be ignored. Sirius sighed and tried not to let his wince show as he put his feet up. It didn't work.

"How bad is it?" Andromeda said with a sigh. She set her drink down and stood, walking over to him. "Sirius, you _idiot_ , you didn't tell them you were hurt did you?"

"Wanted to get home to see Holly."

"And what if she had seen this?" Andromeda gestured at Sirius who for his part did a good job of looking guilty.

"Well, I may as well clean you up. Merlin knows I don't trust you to do it yourself." Andromeda said, brandishing her wand at the kitchen and catching the towel that floated out.

"Shouldn't you get home to Ted and 'Dora?" Sirius said.

"Ted I trust to look after himself for another half an hour. You clearly need help."

Andromeda's flat stare was enough to convince Sirius that he wasn't going to get off the hook that easy. He held up his hands in mock surrender. The injury, as turned out, wasn't that bad. A clean but shallow cut, from his shoulder and across his chest. Sirius said that it was probably either made by broken glass or the flail that had been banished at him. That had earned him another of Andromeda's raised eyebrows.

Really the bar fight had only lasted a few minutes and by the time Sirius and his partner had arrived, it was mostly over. The difficulty had been convincing the owner that they were really Aurors. It had been Aberforth that had banished the flail at Sirius after he had called the man a crackpot for not believing them. He had apologised afterwards, once he realised that it was the same Sirius Black that he had sold beers to whenever the Marauders had sneaked out of Hogwarts. He grinned at the memory. Andromeda dipped the corner of the towel in diluted dittany and pressed it to Sirius's cleaned cut. She gave a satisfied smirk at his surprised yelp.

"You know, I do appreciate this," Sirius said.

"Anytime. It's pretty enjoyable." Andromeda said, pressing the towel against his wound again and smirking at his obvious discomfort as he tried to not wince.

"Not this you prat."

Sirius gestured to Holly, still fast asleep on the sofa. "For watching Holly. It means a lot to me."

"I know," Andromeda said. "I enjoy spending time with her anyway. Almost as much as I enjoy torturing my favorite cousin."

Once Andromeda had been satisfied that Sirius was properly patched up, she said a quiet farewell to the sleeping form of Holly and used the Floo to return to her own family. Sirius shrugged his shirt back on and scooped up his sleeping daughter, then began to carry her upstairs to her bedroom. She hugged him a bit tighter as he set her down on her bed, and Sirius did his best to pretend not to notice.

"I love you, dad."

Sirius' voice might have cracked when he responded, but Holly did her best to pretend not to notice.

"I love you too Holly."

* * *

31st July 1988.

"Happy birthday Holly!"

Holly looked up from the photo album that she was holding just as there was a flash of light and a puff of smoke.

"Dad! At least warn me in advance!" Holly said.

Sirius chuckled as he lowered the camera and looked at the photo it had ejected. It showed mostly, a mop of messy black hair bent over a photo album. The girl looked up with an expression somewhere between curiosity and surprise just as Sirius had taken the picture. Sirius watched the photograph loop a few times. The girl would look down at the photo album, turn a page and then look up with wide eyes. After a moment she would go back to looking at the book in her arms again.

Magical photographs weren't perfect. They simply captured about a second of movement. The secret to taking a good photograph, at least in Sirius' opinion, was to take it when the subject had no idea it was coming. That way, you always got a goofy expression or confused look.

"That one isn't going in here!" Holly said, tapping the photo album.

"Oh no. This one is going on the mantelpiece!" Sirius said with obvious glee.

Holly couldn't bring herself to be annoyed. The photo album she held in her arms had been the best gift she'd ever received. It was only about a third full, and mostly with pictures of Holly and Sirius. Holly riding on a shaggy black dog, holding on to his fur as he ran around the house. Holly pushing her ice-cream into Sirius' nose in Diagon Alley, and so on. There were other photographs though. Older pictures, of Sirius and his friends at Hogwarts. At the front, on a page of its own a single slightly faded photograph of James and Lily Potter holding hands.

Sirius had never kept the truth from her, and as soon as she was old enough to understand properly he had told her everything. Everything that she had asked, despite her young age. The pair had shared several tear-filled hours at the kitchen table together while they talked.

"Hello?" A voice said, drifting in from the living room with the faint sound of a Floo connection being made.

"We have presents!" A second voice said, accompanied by a similar rushing noise of a second Floo connection.

Andromeda and her daughter came into the kitchen, both carrying a brightly wrapped gift. The adult woman set hers on the dining table but the younger girl held hers out to Holly with a grin, her hair lengthening and growing darker to imitate Holly's.

"Got a surprise for you Kiddo," Nymphadora said, now closely resembling an older Holly, minus the glasses.

"Wasps versus Harpies?" Andromeda said.

"Mum, way to ruin the surprise!" Nymphadora moaned.

Andromeda handed Holly one of four strips of parchment she held. Looking down at it she could read 'Wimbourne Wasps Vs Holyhead Harpies, British and Irish Quidditch League, Semi-Final.' Holly looked up at her father hopefully.

"Can we go, dad? Please?"

"Are you kidding? I can't wait to see the Wasps win!" Sirius took one of the tickets from Andromeda and grinned.

Both of the young girls in the room decided to loudly make their views on the Wasps known.

* * *

31st July 1989.

"Happy birthday Holly"

Sirius gave her a soft shake to wake her up. Holly opened her eyes blearily and then sat up, brushing her mop of hair out of her face.

"'S early."

"Half four." Sirius said, "but you could go back to sleep if you don't mind being late?"

Holly's eyes widened as she realized exactly why Sirius was waking her at half four in the morning. And she swung her legs out of bed, reaching for her glasses and almost upending the glass of water on her bedside table in the process.

"Relax Holly. Go shower, then we can have some breakfast. Portkey isn't until 6."

Holly slowed, half-way to putting on a pair of mismatched socks and blushed red.

A little over an hour later, showered, fed and dressed in matching socks, Holly stood in the morning sun in a park a few miles from her home. Tall birch trees lined the park and a large pond stretched across the center. Holly, Sirius, and three other people stood in a circle, each with a finger pressed to a slightly soggy newspaper. All five of them were watching the newspaper intently.

"Should be any moment now." One of the strangers said.

Not a second later Holly felt a firm tug from somewhere in her stomach and she was spinning through a blur of colour and sound. Sirius laughed at her reaction from her left and wrapped his arm around her. Holly braced herself and felt her feet hit the floor, and then saw sky, and then ground, and sky again. It took a moment for her vision to stop spinning and she had to push her glasses back onto her face. Sirius appeared above her with a wide grin.

"Six O'clock from central London." a bored voice said. "Clear the area please."

Sirius pulled Holly to her feet as the woman who had spoken picked up the spent Portkey and added it to a pile of discarded rubbish and old clothing. Behind him was what looked like a massive blue tent, easily big enough to hold the entirety of number 12 Grimmauld Place. A large banner across one of the tents multiple doorways proclaimed '617th All-England Duelling Championship.'

Sirius led them away from the Portkey 'landing spot' and towards the tent and the masses of people around it. There were various stalls and stands around the area and most of the spectators would mill around purchasing goods or food, or otherwise occupying themselves for the early part of the day. Some others would only arrive later in the day, once the preliminary duels were completed and the more serious ones had started. But not Holly. The first duel was to start at 6:30 and Holly didn't take her eyes off the action for a moment. It had been a relatively tame duel as duels go and had lasted less than three minutes but Holly had been enthralled for every second of it.

Everything about it spoke to Holly in a way she never knew she wanted. The way the duellists circled each other in the centre of the area. The smart duelling robes they wore. The intricate dance of spells that they wove at each other, and the grace with which they dodged. All of it was the most exciting thing she had ever witnessed. After the first duel, she had decided that it was better than Quidditch. After the next two, she had decided that it was _nothing_ like Quidditch. Quidditch was enjoyable, duelling it seemed, was breathtaking.

After Tarquin McTavish a bald middle-aged wizard had been defeated by Alison Paddock, the blonde witch having turned McTavishes arms and legs into solid iron, there was a short break.

Holly looked down at the pamphlet that Sirius had bought them outside the tent.

"11:00 am, performance duel." She read aloud, then looked to Sirius in confusion.

"Oh, you'll like that. It's usually old champions or master duellers. They won't be competing properly, it's just a showcase of their talents."

During the interval, Sirius bought them some lunch and amused Holly by pointing out a few people that he knew either from his time at Hogwarts or his work with the Ministry. The main amusement came from the stories he told about them, one of which almost made her choke on her pumpkin pasty. Holly was quite sure the stories were mostly untrue.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," The announcer's voice boomed, magically amplified and echoing around the arena. "Please welcome to the stage; Ezekiel Rookwood and Filius Flitwick!"

A round of applause cascaded around the area and Holly watched two of the most visually opposed wizards she had ever seen, take the stage. Ezekiel Rookwood was well over six feet tall, and surprisingly young, with a long black ponytail and a clean-shaven face. Filius Flitwick was under three feet tall and looked to be well into his fourties if not older, with a short hairstyle and a neat moustache.

"He's the Charms professor at Hogwarts," Sirius whispered to her, nodding to the right side of the arena.

"The small one?"

Sirius gave her a look out of the corner of his eye and laughed lightly.

"Just you wait. I wouldn't judge him by his size if I were you." Sirius said.

The two opposing wizards took their places in the centre of the arena, raised their wands in front of their faces and bowed. The crowd was utterly silent. Holly didn't even see the first spells being cast. A gout of flame erupted from the earth, spiralling upwards from where Flitwick had been standing just a moment before he dived backwards. Similarly, an explosion threw up the sand that made up the arena's floor where Rookwood had been standing. Before flame or explosion had cleared more spells were being thrown across the arena. A ball of red light barely missed Flitwick and as Rookwood slid sideways out of the explosion of sand, a lightning bolt from Flitwick's wand arced in the other direction and snapped dangerously close to Rookwood.

Holly found that in most of the duels she had watched so far, the combatants were loud. They would often shout or jeer at their opponents. Sirius had said that this was a tactic to rile your opposition up, to make them angry. People were more likely to make mistakes if they were angry, he had said. This duel, however, the combatants were totally silent. Holly was unsure whether it was the respect of two master duellists, or that they both knew that they wouldn't be able to rile the other up. It wasn't just the insults and ridicule that was missing though; both wizards were duelling _completely_ silently.

"They don't need to speak to cast?" Holly whispered.

She hadn't taken her eyes of the duel for a moment. She still almost missed Rookwood animating a humanoid figure out of sand. The sand-golem rose up from the ground, the terrain flowing together as if it was water and forming arms and then a head. It started lifting itself further from the ground but before it could fully free itself, it was frozen solid. Flitwick hit it with a spell of such heat that the sand had crystallised into sheer glass. It remained there now as the pair continued to duel, a beautiful stationary statue in between two furious combatants.

"They're both casting non-verbally. Very hard to do, especially when you're trying to do it with every spell." Sirius whispered back.

Holly tried her best to keep up with what was happening. It seemed that for every spell she followed she would miss two more. She watched a rope of flame lash across Rookwood's left arm and the crowd took a collective breath. While she had watched the flaming whip strike Rookwood, she had missed the arms of sand that had sprouted from the ground and attempted to grab Flitwick. She had also missed the ten-inch needle of ice that had barely grazed Rookwood's torso, but most of the crowd had missed _that_ one.

Flitwick sidestepped a dagger that had been summoned at him and sent a small tidal wave of sand towards Rookwood. The wave of sand obscured vision for both combatants for a moment but neither of them stopped casting. Rookwood braced and took the wave of sand. The jet of orange light that Flitwick had sent behind it, hidden in the wake of the wave ricocheted off the large metal shield that Rookwood had summoned… When? Holly had missed that too.

The shield went from gold to red and Rookwood swore and dropped it, the heated metal sizzling as it hit the ground. He sent a long thin beam of white light towards Flitwick that carved across the arena like a paintbrush, leaving molten sand in its path. The shield that Rookwood had dropped rose up now, and Flitwick banished it into its owner. Rolling to the side Rookwood threw a sickly black bolt of light in return. It cracked across the arena, shattering the glass golem into tiny fragments, but missing Flitwick.

And then both wizards were bowing to each other and the crowd erupted in applause and conversation.

"What?" Holly demanded

"Rookwood got disarmed, Flitwick won!" Sirius said while applauding.

"I _missed_ it!" Holly said, with exasperation. "When did he do it?"

"No bloody idea! I missed it too, but look Rookwood is wandless!"

* * *

31st July 1990.

"Happy birthday dear!" Mrs. Weasley said as Holly was being helped out of the fireplace by Sirius. "You look so grown up! Did you have a nice day?"

"It was lovely thanks. We went to a muggle cinema with Remus!" Holly said excitedly, despite the fact that she personally didn't think she looked grown up in the slightest. If Sirius' knowing grin was anything to go by he was thinking something about her immaturity too. Mrs. Weasley smiled at her kindly and then turned to her children.

"Boys, why don't you take Holly and go find your sister hmm?" Mrs. Weasley gestured to the three redheaded children in the kitchen. Sirius ruffled Holly's hair as he passed her and he and Remus sat down at the table.

"Yes, mum." One of the boys said with an air of innocence and nodded outside. All four children headed for the garden door. It was a warm summer's day outside and none of them needed asking twice.

Sirius had apologised that he had to have a meeting on her birthday, but he had mentioned the Weasley family before and Holly was eager to make friends with people her age so all in all she wasn't too put out by the visit.

"You're a bit early but Arthur won't be a moment, and the rest should be here soon.." Mrs. Weasley's words drifted out of the kitchen but were cut off by the door swinging shut. The two older boys, followed by their younger brother and Holly continued into the garden.

"I'm Ron," The younger boy said, "your dad said we'd be going to Hogwarts together, last time he came over for a meeting."

Holly introduced herself but realized belatedly that it was probably unnecessary if Sirius had been talking about her. "What do they do at these meetings?"

"Dunno. They never let us listen." Ron thumbed over his shoulder at the house as he spoke. "They all get together and talk about work I guess. Our dads both work at the ministry right?" he shrugged.

"My dad's an Auror." Holly supplied while nodding. The meetings were likely about their work at the Ministry she decided.

"That's Fred and George," Ron said waving a hand at the two boys in front to them, who were seemingly identical.

"I'm not Fred! He's Fred!" said one of the twins looking back over his shoulder as they walked through the garden.

"Yeah! He's Fred!" said the other as though he was agreeing, but pointing at the first twin.

"You can't both be Fred," Ron said flatly, giving them both an annoyed look.

"George, I think Ronnie might have forgotten us." the first twin added in an offended tone.

"Maybe he's not feeling well."

"Well now that you mention it, he does look a bit funny," the first twin replied.

"I think he's always looked a bit funny," the second said. They both grinned back at Holly and Ron.

"Ignore them," Ron said in a tone that implied that this act was nothing new to him. "They've been doing this for weeks since mum called George 'Fred' by accident. They think its funny."

One of the twins leaned towards Holly and said "It's not Ronnie's fault" in a mock whisper. "I think we're twins!" he added, pointing between himself and the other twin, as though this was apparently not an obvious fact.

"It's probably that time we tried to make Polyjuice." one of the twins said. "We botched the Lacewing flies and now I look like Fred!"

"Me too!" the other added as though it was a great punchline.

Holly thought she might have heard Sirius mention 'Polyjuice' once when he was talking about his time at Hogwarts, but she had no idea what it was used for and no idea if the two boys were being genuine or not, so she settled for nodding as though she understood and shot Ron a confused look when the twins had looked away.

"Well we've got things to do that don't involve our little brother, so you two tykes will have to stay here." one of the twins, Holly thought it might have been George, said. He patted Ron on the head and added: "Be good now Ronnie!"

Ron didn't reply but scowled at the twins backs as they left the garden onto a country lane which Holly assumed would lead to the nearby town. "Gits," he added once his two brothers were out of earshot. Despite this, Ron's mood brightened considerably and he turned to Holly.

"Come on, let's go find my sister, she's probably down by the stream." he nodded towards the other direction from the retreating profile of the twins.

"You have a sister too?" Holly wondered what that would be like. "Must be nice, I mean, I'm an only child," she explained.

"And three more brothers," Ron said unenthusiastically. "Seven of us. It's a total pain."

While Holly tried to imagine what it would be like to have six siblings, Ron led them around the back of the house and into a larger back-garden which bordered onto a field which led down towards a small stream, and beyond that a dense copse of trees.

"There's Ginny," Ron said after they had walked for a while, the pair of them lost in their own thoughts. He gestured to the other side of the field where there was a small stream winding out of the trees, with what appeared to be a young girl splashing around in it. "Oi Ginny!" he called a little louder, while they walked.

His sister looked up at the sound and waved at them. After they got closer Holly found Ginny to be a cheery girl maybe a little younger than herself who had her dungarees rolled up above her knees and was wading around in the water.

"Hey Ginny, this is Holly," Ron said as they got to the edge of the stream. "Sirius' daughter."

"Hi." Ginny grinned brightly and splashed over to the slightly boggy edge of the stream. "Catching frogs," she said before either of them had asked. "Wanna help?"

Ron looked dubiously at the muddy ground Ginny's bare feet were sinking into, but Holly was already sat down pulling her socks and trainers off, then rolling up her jeans with a grin.

* * *

24th July 1991.

"Happy birthday Holly!" Ron said as he stepped out of the fireplace and into the lounge of number 12 Grimmauld Place. He grinned "Even if it is a bit early!"

She thanked him as he gave her a wrapped gift. A box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, it turned out.

"Andi' and 'Dora should be here soon." Sirius eyed the beans warily and when offered, refused to touch them.

Both Holly and Ron amused themselves by taking it in turns to try the beans, while they waited for Holly's aunt and cousin to arrive. After some deliberation, Holly picked a yellow-brown bean that Ron refused to touch. Honey, it turned out.

"Worm flavoured!" She said, happily chewing the honey flavoured bean. Ron did his best not to look disgusted.

The two female Tonks' arrived while Ron was attempting to get the flavour of 'farm dirt' out of his mouth and Holly was clutching her stomach in silent laughter. After customary greetings and congratulations, Andromeda and Sirius side-along apparated Holly, Ron, and Nymphadora to the lake district. Or more importantly, to the Scamander Sanctuary for Magical and Endangered Creatures. Britain's only magical zoo and wildlife sanctuary.

As Sirius paid for their entrance Holly looked up at the large gates that stood open. A simple head-height stone wall ran from either side of the gates far into the distance. The towering yellow-gold gates in addition to the name of the sanctuary held the words ' _All life, no matter its nature, deserves protection - N.S._ ' in neat black letters.

A young man wearing a smart black uniform with yellow accents led them through the gates. Inside the gates were a number of small carts that somewhat resembled muggle cars, although they had no roof and six seats, in two rows of three.

"Welcome to the Scamander Sanctuary for Magical and Endangered Creatures. For your convenience, these carts can be used to carry you around the park. All you need to do is to have someone tap the front of the cart with their wand and it will follow your directions. Please do not attempt to take the carts off the paths."

The attendant said all of this in a single, well-rehearsed voice that left no doubt that he had said it many times before. He demonstrated by tapping one of the carts with his wand, and it rolled forward slightly, stopping in front of the group.

"As you can see, there are markings on the ground that will lead you to wherever you wish to go." He gestured to the ground, where there were several coloured lines weaved off in different directions. "The yellow line will always lead back to the main gates."

Holly tilted her head to look at lines on the ground, each of which was a different colour and had words etched along them in intervals. The yellow line, thinner than all the others simply read 'Main gates' but the others were more interesting. 'Elementia', 'Hybrids', and 'Draconids' were the three that she could immediately read, and there were more winding off in different directions from each line.

After the attendant had answered a few questions from Sirius and told them where to find the gift shop, all five of them piled into the cart. Sirius and Andromeda sat in the back while the three younger passengers took the front seats. Drawing his wand, Sirius tapped the cart once lightly.

"Well then, what do you want to see first?"

"Dragons!", "Griffins!" and "Manticore!" all melded into a single cry as each member of the front of the cart had a different answer. In the end, the attendant suggested that the follow the 'tour' line that apparently led in a spiral around the park and would take them through every exhibit.

The enclosures they found, were not particularly 'enclosed.' Each only had a low line of bricks outlining its perimeter. Andromeda pointed out the heavy stones set at each corner, however, engraved with numerous runic symbols. Alongside each of the enclosures was a signpost detailing what creature was contained within, and a little information about it. The was also a classification from one to five stars that Sirius told them was a gauge of how dangerous the creature was.

As they progressed through the park they found that the less dangerous animals were by the entrance, and the more dangerous animals were towards the outer edges of the massive sanctuary. The path that the attendant had suggested would lead them through all of the one-star creatures, before turning back and heading through all of the two-star exhibits, and so on. Holly noticed that the enclosures also tended to increase in size along with the star-rating of the occupants. Many of the one-star creatures such as Horklumps, a creature that mimicked a fleshy mushroom, had small enclosures only the size of a small house. A few of the two-star creatures lived in areas that would just about fit a Quidditch pitch.

Holly quickly lost count of the number of incredible creatures that she saw; the mooncalf, in particular, impressed both her and Nymphadora. The enclosure was enchanted so that it was perpetually night time, with an eerie full moon hanging high above. The mooncalves would stand on their hind legs, their large flat webbed front feet held up and their long necks stretched towards the moon. Their enormous eyes would bulge, each reflecting the lunar light. Then, they would sing. Low strange notes that brought images of oceans and strange landscapes to Holly's mind, despite there being no intelligible words to the song. Each member of the cart listened in silence until the song ended and the mooncalves dropped back to all fours and started sniffing at the ground looking for food. After Holly had raised back out of her internal thoughts she noticed a few of the others either shaking themselves or blinking a lot. Seemingly the song had had similar effects on them. The cart rolled on.

After the group had observed the 'Swooping evil' flying back and forth in its enclosure, and transforming to a cocoon every time it landed, they found the path ahead led directly into a lake. It continued smoothly on below the waterline. A series of rune-stones alongside the path seemed to hold the water back creating a tunnel of empty space below the soft waves. Despite this, Holly couldn't help but feel unnerved as the cart and its passengers began to roll below the level of the water. As dark and murky as lake water would usually be, she was surprised to find that she could see a long way either side of the tunnel. The water from above had been a chill dark grey but from inside the tunnel, it was a vaguely blue translucence that allowed visibility all the way to the opposite shore of the lake. Holly guessed it was half a mile ahead until the path rose back out of the lake and continued onward.

"Ramora." The sign stated. "This large fish-like beast native to northern oceans and larger lakes has the ability to magically anchor and impede other waterborne objects. Generally, this was most often used on muggle-fishing vessels. The Ramora would halt the boat and then feast on the fish that had been caught in the boat's nets. The Ramora was hunted to near extinction before 1689 when the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy was signed, and they were added to the Protected Magical Species Register."

The sign included a moving sketch of an enormous serpentine-fish swimming around an old-fashioned sailing ship, complete with tiny sailors attempting to throw spears at the aquatic beast.

Holly looked out into waters but couldn't see anything resembling the Ramora.

"I think it's hiding!" Holly said, pouting.

They waited for almost ten minutes, scanning the oddly illuminated depths in all directions. It was worth it when with an excited squawk Nymphadora pointed out into the waters. A small cloud of sand and mud puffing up from the lake-floor was the first thing that they saw. Slowly, as the cloud of silt became a trail leading across the enclosure a large spiny fin became visible. Eventually, the oddly long fish, somewhere between an eel and a shark only at least fifteen meters long, rose out of the sand and swam it's way gracefully away from them before it disappeared back down into the bottom of the lake.

Once they began to get to the exhibits containing three-star creatures, each enclosure was complemented by a member of staff standing alongside the signpost. 'Security' the letters on their armband read.

The manticores were terrifying and fierce. Their lion-like bodies and wickedly sharp scorpion's tail were all the more intimidating for the odd intelligence that their eyes held. The sphinx although regal and not fierce was equally frightening, due to the way her human-like head seemed to watch them as much as Holly and her group watched it. They all laughed as they watched the erumpent. The squat but powerfully muscled beast seemed easily started. It charged a tree that it had apparently not noticed and as it impacted its horn glowed bright orange and the tree exploded outwards. Charred debris clattered off the invisible wall of the enclosure as the children in the cart all flinched. One of the staff members in a black and yellow uniform floated a large pile of bushy green plants into the enclosure gently. The erumpent, startled by this new addition, proceeded to charge at and detonate it's intended meal. The man sighed as though this was a frequent occurrence and began to levitate more leaves into the other side of the enclosure.

When they came to the first five-star classified creature, Ron shut his eyes and asked that they move on quickly. They passed swiftly through the magical tunnel that carved through the dark forest, littered with cobwebs. Somewhere, Holly was sure, eight unblinking Acromantula eyes observed them.

Holly noticed that the five-star creatures warranted two security personnel and a third individual in crimson robes. As they pulled alongside the enclosure containing a large yellow catlike creature covered in small black spines, the crimson-robed individual stationed here began to walk over to them.

"Aurors," Sirius said "on permanent loan from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

The Auror, a brown-haired witch with a wide smile came over to them. Nymphadora's hair darkened from its usual bubblegum pink to a close imitation of the woman's brunette ponytail. The Metamorphmagus herself, seemingly unaware of this.

"Alright, Sirius?" she said brightly.

"Stockblow. Didn't know they had you stationed out here?"

"Only temporarily. Thurkell got bitten by a knarl last week, so I'm covering." She shrugged.

"How come the Aurors are here?" Holly said, and then proceeded to blush as she unintentionally vocalized her thoughts.

"Ah, so _this_ is Holly I take it? Sirius is _always_ telling us about you!" The witch said in a teasing tone.

Sirius, to his credit, managed to look abashed.

"You going to be an Auror like your dad when you grow up?" The witch, 'Stockblow' it seemed, said.

"Duellist!" Holly said in what she hoped was an offhand manner.

"Well little duellist, I'm here for extra security... But also to protect the creatures." The Auror said, giving Holly a genuine smile and waving back at the enclosure. "A lot of money to be made off some of these creatures, people have tried to steal them before."

"For potion ingredients and stuff?" Ron asked.

"Yeah amongst other things. Dragons, for instance, nearly every part of them has a magical use and not just for potions." she gestured at the signpost beside her. "Not this one though. You'd be a fool to try and steal this one. The dragons may be flashy and they're certainly dangerous but they've got nothing on a nundu.

" _Nundu_." Holly read. " _With toxic breath that is quickly deadly even to other large creatures and the ability to move with complete silence the nundu is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous predators in the world. Capable of growing to ten feet high at the shoulder, the nundu can inflate the skin around its head by filling it with poisonous gas. This causes the spiny skin to protrude giving it a mane-like appearance similar to that of a manticore. The spines that cover the nundu are incredibly hard and sharp meaning physical contact with even a dead specimen can cause injury. The nundu is resistant to most forms of combatant magic to such an extent that it is easier to stun an adult dragon than a nundu. This is the only known specimen that is in captivity, and was brought to the sanctuary upon its first opening by Newton Scamander in 1934._ "

The nundu lazily swished its tail while it lay basking in the afternoon sun amongst the tall grasses of its enclosure. Belying little of its dangerous nature it observed the group then set it's large head upon its paws and closed its eyes with no apparent concern for any of them.

The dragons had naturally, impressed them all. After one of the staff members had approached them and informed them that it was almost 'feeding time' they, along with most of the other visitors to the park were clustered together eagerly waiting. At the far side of the sanctuary, there was a mountainous area that Holly thought was unlikely to be native to the lake district. The viewing platform stood on one of the low hills, and the tall grey mountains rose into the distance. The sign here was blank at first, and Holly watched with interest as new words began to write themselves across it.

' _Ukrainian Ironbelly; aerial hunter._ ' it read.

From the platform, Holly watched as the small figures of three wizards all stood around a large chunk of unknown meat. The sanctuary workers pointed their wands at the meat in unison and the large pint slab of flesh began to morph and grow feathers. After a moment, the transfigured hippogriff took to the skies and began to fly in lazy circles higher and higher. At first, nothing happened. For _several minutes_ , nothing happened. Then, part of the grey mountain snaked to the side and with a single beat of its massive stony wings, rocketed into the sky. Judging from the gasps and exclamations from the other visitors Holly hadn't been the only one unable to spot the dragon. Its scales resembled the colour of stone so closely that she would have sworn the dragon was _made_ of rock. The Ironbelly launched itself several hundred feet into the air in just a few wing-beats, and in the blink of an eye, it was on top of the transfigured bait, spewing bursts of flame so bright that it hurt her eyes if Holly tried to look directly at it. The dragon would dive at the bait gushing flame, and the claw and bite as flew past it. The bait, smouldering slightly started to fall from the sky. Before it could hit the ground, however, the dragon had caught it from the air and began to retreat over the mountains to the distance. Smoking hippogriff shaped lump in its claws.

The sign wiped itself clean and Holly watched new words begin to scrawl themselves into existence. ' _Peruvian Vipertooth; ambush hunter._ '

This time the dragon attendants transfigured another large chunk of meat into a sort of long-haired cow. They directed the large beast around the area and towards the shimmering lake at the foot of the hills. The ox calmly plodded over to the shores of the lake and began to drink from it. Holly watched with bated breath as the animal drank for the cool lake water. She scanned the mountains behind it, and the grass alongside it but couldn't see anything that resembled a dragon. The cow took a few more slow steps into the water so that it was standing ankle deep. Another single step and it started lowering its face into the water to mimic drinking. The water before it exploded as the 'Peruvian Vipertooth', cascading streams of lake-water that glimmered in the sunlight lunged from the depths snapping its jaws around the ox. The Vipertooth was smaller than the Ironbelly, but it had teeth like needles that extended out and overlapped its bottom jaw. The dragon thrashed the cow to the side once and then slowly allowed itself to slide backwards under the waves it had caused, taking the flailing bait with it.

They had shared a less exciting, but nevertheless enjoyable lunch themselves before heading home. Both Ron and Holly in animated conversation about the day's events the entire time. When Sirius and Holly returned to the comfort of number 12 Grimmauld Place by themselves, they found an owl waiting for them at the front door. Holly didn't recognise the bird. The handsome tawny owl didn't belong to either Remus, the Weasleys, the Longbottoms or the Tonks' who were the only people likely to send Holly a letter. And yet, it pointedly ignored Sirius. Dropping the letter at Holly's feet the bird gracefully lifted itself from the railing by their front door and glided off into the failing light of evening.

' _Holly Black_ ' the envelope read.

She tore it before they even left the doorstep and broke into an uncontrollable grin as she read it.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore  
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,  
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

 _Dear Ms. Black,_

 _We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…_

Holly looked up from the letter with her face splitting into an even wider smile before she threw herself into an embrace with her father.

* * *

-Authors Note-

And there we have it; a taste of Holly's life pre-Hogwarts and hopefully an insight into her as a character.

Props to anyone who noticed the little Easter-egg I threw in regarding Thurkell and knarls. Consider yourself truly a Harry Potter nerd.

I'm still new to this, and so any reviews with opinions or constructive criticism are greatly appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

-Authors Note-

As part of this chapter will include some references to wizarding fashion, I'd like to direct people to FanFiction author Taure's discussion on the subject. If you would like to see the visual guide that they put together then you can find the link on their profile.

This is also an appropriate time to say that I'm going to be using a different value for wizarding currency. In canon, a Galleon is around $6 which is frankly ridiculous given some of the items that are bought and sold in the books. Henceforth, a Knut will be worth (roughly) £0.01, meaning a Sickle will be almost £5 and a Galleon would be worth just under £85 or $118. These are rough values and not an exact exchange rate - they're just to give you a quick idea of monetary value.

* * *

Holly Black and the Reflection of Fear

 _Chapter 3._

15th August 1991.

Holly stepped out of the fireplace and into The Leaky Cauldron. There was a low hum of conversation and the pub was relatively busy despite the fact that it was mid-morning.

"So, we could stay and have a breakfast here…" Sirius said.

"Dad! I've been waiting for _two weeks!_ We can eat after we've been shopping!"

Judging by the grin he was giving his daughter, Sirius had been expecting such an answer. Holly swatted at his arm when he at laughed her and then walked off by herself towards the back of the pub. Sirius was half tempted to take his time or to start up a conversation with the pub's owner. The look of excitement on Holly's face, however, made him admit that that would be a little _too_ cruel. He did remember being her age and coming on a similar trip himself almost twenty years ago. He remembered the anticipation and importance that this trip held. It was more than just a shopping trip after all. And so he only dragged his feet _a little_ as he caught up to his daughter waiting impatiently in the small alcove behind The Leaky Cauldron.

"Ah!" He said, feigning surprise, "looks like you can't get far without me just yet."

"Not for much longer."

Holly had tried to make her response sound offhand but they both knew she was far too excited for that. Sirius made an exaggerated show of drawing his wand, flourishing it and tapping the correct brick. Holly couldn't help but laugh at his overblown theatrics, although she tried very hard not to. She had learned well that laughing at Sirius' jokes only encouraged him.

"I don't suppose we can go to Ollivanders first?" Holly said, half hopeful.

"You know the rules. Wand last. It's an important tradition."

" _You_ don't care at all for tradition!"

"Maybe I've been wrong all these years!" Sirius said cheerfully, "you got the letter? What's first?"

"Robes," Holly said, without having to even pull the envelope out of her pocket. "Robes, then books, potion equipment, broomstick, telescope, and wand."

"Nice try," Sirius said laughing, "no brooms for firsties!"

Holly had said it mostly as a joke. Mostly. She found though that she couldn't bring herself to be truly disappointed. A broom would be fun, but the item she most looked forward to getting was, of course, the most important. As annoying as it was having to wait until the end of the day to get her wand, she did understand the tradition. She didn't agree with it, but she understood. It would be worth waiting for.

Madam Malkin's was one of the stores that Holly had visited before. Although the name only advertised 'Robes for all occasions' the store sold a far wider variety. Almost every type of clothing imaginable. The majority of Holly's wardrobe in fact, aside from the few items of muggle clothing, had come from either here or Twilfitt & Tatting's. Sirius and Holly agreed that Madam Malkin's (Both the store and the proprietor) was far nicer than Twilfitt & Tatting's. The later generally had an air of what Sirius called 'pretentiousness' and what Holly called 'snooty and stuck up'.

Sirius walked up to the counter and began talking to the assistant. Holly, however, was looking at the 'Hogwarts selection' which had been placed at the front of the store, and presumably would be until September. Pinned to the front of the display was a notice that bore the Hogwarts crest and neat emerald lettering.

 _A reminder to all new students of Hogwarts (and to some of the older ones.)_

 _Hogwarts uniform guidelines allow for either 'closed', 'openable', or 'open' robe styles._

 _Both 'openable' and 'open' styles are only permitted when worn with appropriate inner robes of at least knee length. Dress robes are only for special occasions and not daily-wear._

 _Outer robes must be black._

 _Inner robes may be black, white or grey._

 _If worn with a closed robe, inner robe colour may be left to the discretion of the student._

 _We would like to remind all students that while attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry you will be considered a representative of the school and expected to conduct yourself in an appropriate manner. This includes the uniform which is an important part of tradition, one that we value highly. Anyone who disagrees with the state of uniform standards at Hogwarts is welcome to personally discuss the matter with me._

 _-Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall._

Holly had once met Professor McGonagall, briefly. Sirius had been working and so she had spent the day with Remus. They had gone for lunch in a wizarding pub and the professor had been there. Holly had been given the impression of a meticulously strict woman, someone who expected to be obeyed to the letter. However, in the brief conversation that they had shared, she had been friendly and cheerful to both Remus and Holly. After reading the notice Holly decided she would like to avoid 'discussing the state of uniform standards' with Professor McGonagall.

A quick look at the women's section of Hogwarts robes showed that there were indeed a number of styles but what Holly noticed was that there were four separate colour schemes. She knew, from Sirius and from the few photos she had of his time at Hogwarts that the different houses each wore robes in their house colours. Sirius had apparently finished talking with the store assistant and was chuckling as he read the notice from Professor McGonagall.

"How do we know what colour to buy?" Holly asked, "I don't know what house I'm going to be in."

"You'll be in Gryffindor or you'll be coming home, young lady," Sirius said with mock-severity.

"The robes you buy will be plain, they'll change to your house colours once you get sorted," The assistant said smiling kindly.

Sirius gave Holly an amused grin as she gave him an unamused stare in return.

"It'll take you a while to get measured for you robes, so I'll go buy your potions equipment and meet you outside Flourish and Blotts in a bit," Sirius said.

He ruffled her hair before he left, in spite of, or probably _because of_ the half annoyed expression Holly gave him as she tried to flatten her hair down.

The assistant, a tall blonde girl who only seemed to be five or six years older than Holly, introduced herself as 'Abbie'. She told Holly to pick out what she wanted first and then they would measure her and alter the robes. Holly chose a few robes of each style, not especially having a preference for any type, a plain black cloak and a Hogwarts scarf which was currently solid grey. The scarf presumably was the same as the small house crest on each of the robes and would change once she had been sorted into one of the four houses. Once she was stood on a small podium Abbie directed a tape-measure around her and began to both dictate measurements and attempt small talk at the same time.

"63 centimeters. Excited to be off to Hogwarts I bet."

"Huh? Oh yeah, yeah I can't wait," Holly said after a moment.

The combination of dictating to a quill and conversation was pretty hard to follow even when a tape measure wasn't doing its best to measure the width of your fingers. Holly was unsure why that would be needed for her Hogwarts uniform.

"Any idea what house you'll be in? Seven centimeters."

"No idea really. My dad says Gryffindor but he _probably_ won't disown me if I'm not," Holly said.

"Don't you worry. A lot of people end up in houses they don't expect. My whole family are Ravenclaws and I'm in Hufflepuff," She shrugged, "that's the whole point of the houses I think. They put you where you need to go, even if you don't know it yourself. 77.4 centimeters."

"You're still at Hogwarts?"

"Yeah, I'll be seventh year when I go back. Sorta' panicking about my NEWTs," She grimaced as she said the last words, "oh you can hop down now, the measuring is done."

Sirius had already signed for the payment, and Abbie handed Holly a receipt.

"The robes will be done in an hour, or we can deliver them to your home for six sickles."

"I think we'll still be around so we can just come collect them later today if that's alright," Holly said.

Holly said goodbye to Abbie and agreed that she would come and find her if she ever needed help at Hogwarts. She discovered Sirius not waiting outside Flourish and Blotts, but in the queue at Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour opposite.

"Mines vanilla," She said as she fell in line next to him.

Sirius passed Holly her new cauldron, which currently contained numerous small pots of potion ingredients and supplies.

"You sure? The Apothecary had a special on bat spleens so I figured I'd get you extra in case you got hungry." he teased.

"Watch what you say or I'll ask Kreacher to slip a bat spleen into your dinner."

"He'd probably do it," Sirius said cheerfully.

They sat outside and enjoyed their ice creams in the late morning sunshine. Holly had opted for vanilla rather than the bat spleen, much to Sirius' disappointment. As they watched the occupants of Diagon Alley, she told Sirius what Abbie had said about the Hogwarts houses.

"Well, she's not wrong. It doesn't really matter which house you end up in, you'll be placed where you belong," he said nothing for a while, concentrating on his ice cream. "Of course if you do end up in Slytherin you can move into Kreacher's cupboard."

Holly had been expecting a comment like that and ignored it. After their ice cream, they headed to Flourish and Blotts. It seemed that Madam Malkin's wasn't the only store that prepared for the pre-Hogwarts shoppers; as they found several display tables at the front of the store that held books in neat piles, bound together with thick twine. Sirius lifted one of the stacks from the table labeled 'Hogwarts, first year.'

"Well, looks like that's all we needed," Sirius said with a sly grin

"Can I look around?"

"I'll let you buy one book," He said with a sigh "you read too much as it is. It's not good for you."

Holly quickly disappeared between the tall stacks and bookshelves as Sirius muttered something about being 'much too bookish'. It was a bit of an overstatement in Holly's opinion. She was enthusiastic yes, but what young witch or wizard didn't want to learn magic? They had seen it for most of their lives but never been allowed to practice it. Reading about it, Holly reasoned, was the next best thing. She _did_ like books though. Although she would never admit it within earshot of Sirius, she enjoyed reading more than Quidditch.

After a painful deliberation, she returned ' _Basic Hexes for the Busy and Vexed_ ' to its spot on the shelf and walked back to Sirius.

"Curses and Counter-Curses?" he read as she handed him the book.

"Well I was going to get 'The Invisible Book of Invisibility' but I couldn't find it," she said sarcastically.

"Shelf 7, at the bottom," one of the store workers said, without looking up from the books he was organising.

Holly decided not to point out that it had been a joke and added the copy of Curses and Counter-Curses to the stack of books Sirius was carrying.

"It's useful," Holly said in her defence. "I was going to get a book on dueling theory instead but…"

Sirius rolled his eyes and carried the books to the counter. Reading books for 'fun' was bad enough in his mind. Reading books about _theory?_ He would never live it down if Remus found out. Sirius signed for the books, the payment would be taken from the Black vault later that day. He arranged for the books to be delivered to their house later, but let Holly carry her copy of Curses and Counter-Curses.

They stopped by Amanuensis Quills briefly. The stationary shop sold a truly ridiculous selection of parchment, quills, and ink. Holly found one quill that cost _eight_ galleons and eagerly pointed it out just to see Sirius' reaction. Instead, they bought a basic stationary pack that consisted of a large stack of parchment, three glass ink bottles, several quills, a set of envelopes and a pot of sealing wax for a total of 3 sickles. Next was 'Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment' to pick up a set of scales and a delicate looking brass telescope. Then finally, there was only one stop left.

"Wand," Holly said, brightly "wand, wand, wand, wand."

"Actually, I think you're only allowed one," Sirius said laughing as he watched Holly bouncing on the balls of her feet.

Holly felt like she had been waiting for years for this moment. She _had_ been waiting for years. She had always looked forward to being able to do magic, but ever since Sirius had taken her to the dueling championships over 3 years ago, she had ached for this moment. It was finally here.

Except it wasn't. She still had to wait. Holly tried her best not to pout as she sat in Ollivanders, watching another eleven-year-old try out wand after wand. It had probably taken less than fifteen minutes before the other child was ushered out of the store, happily carrying their new wand. To Holly, it felt like an hour.

"Good morning, Mister Black," Ollivander said, "hazel and unicorn hair, stubborn. And then ebony and dragon heartstring, impetuous."

It was unclear whether this last word was directed at Sirius or his wand. Aurors had a habit of going through wands faster than most people except perhaps spellcrafters.

"Don't worry we're not here for me this time," Sirius said, abashed.

Ollivander despite his previous words smiled.

"I was merely joking Mister Black. I take it that this is young Miss Black?"

Holly stepped forward eagerly and found herself fixed with an unsettling stare from the white-haired wand-maker. He gestured to a table next to him and for the second time that day, Holly found herself being examined by a floating tape measure.

"Well then let's have a look at you."

Ollivander peered into her face for a moment. A _long_ moment. Eventually, he looked at the tape measure which had again wrapped itself around her fingers. Holly had no idea why tape measures seemed to think the circumference of her fingers was important. The elderly wand-maker walked away suddenly with no warning and returned with a wand in a box.

"Holly," he said.

"Yes?"

"Oh no, not you child. The wand, it's made from holly," he clarified.

Sirius snorted and Holly flushed red. She took the wand at Ollivanders prompting and gave it a wave, but nothing happened. Ollivander took the wand back and returned with another which he offered to her again. Holly picked it up and it made a loud bang and started smoking.

"Not that one," Ollivander said smiling and taking the wand back.

Ollivander offered her the next wand but pulled it away shaking his head before she could even touch it. "Not unicorn hair, I should have known… _Thin fingers_ ," he added the last part as if it explained why unicorn hair was unsuitable.

Holly looked at her hands suddenly self-conscious.

"Blackthorn and dragon heartstring," he said simply.

She took the wand timidly. It didn't bang or smoke which was promising. Holly smiled at Ollivander with uncertainty.

"Almost I think. Not quite though. Something less rigid I'd wager. The heartstring seems right but it needs a faster wood."

He handed her a thin straight wand and before her fingertips had even touched it she knew it was _her_ wand. Holly felt the tips of her fingers tingle as she reached for it. If a static shock could be _pleasant_ , that is what she felt in her fingers as she hesitated. Ollivander could tell too if his smile was anything to go by. She brushed her hand on to it and lightly lifted the wand from its box. The tingle of static ran up her whole arm now, before subsiding. She wondered absently if her unruly hair was now standing on end, but couldn't bring herself to actually care. She gave the wand a quick flick purely by instinct and grinned uncontrollably at the burst of petals that sprayed on to Ollivander's shop floor.

"Red oak and dragon heartstring. Ten and a half inches, relatively whippy," he said with a smile, "a good wand for fast reactions and adaptability, you should find it particularly suited for charms and spell-crafting."

Holly was still smiling when they returned to The Leaky Cauldron for lunch. Sirius had told her sternly that underage magic was strictly prohibited by both The Ministry and Hogwarts, and that yes, of course, he would let her try some spells when they got home. He never had much cared for rules. They ordered some food and sat in a comfortable booth.

"Who's Eric Munch?" Holly asked, reading the back of Sirius' copy of The Daily Prophet.

She gestured to the paper when he looked at her curiously. Sirius turned the paper around to read it. It appeared to be a paid advertisement.

" _Desperate family looking for any information regarding the disappearance of Eric Munch. Eric was last seen on August 2nd when he left for a business trip to Europe and hasn't been heard from since. Any information that can help me find my husband will be rewarded. Please contact The Ministry of Magic or mail me directly."_

"He works at the Ministry I think," Sirius said after reading. "I'm not sure what he does though, seen him around a few times."

"He's been gone for a long time, shouldn't it be in the news properly by now?" Holly said between mouthfuls of cottage pie.

"It probably should…" He frowned at the paper. "I guess they don't think there's any money to be made from the story. That's how newspapers work, unfortunately."

* * *

1st September 1991.

Holly placed her photo album gently on top of the stacks of clothing and threw the lid of her trunk closed. With a _click,_ she slipped the catches to hold it shut. Falling back on to her bed she looked around her bedroom. It was odd, seeing her room like this. Her wardrobe stood, doors open and empty. Her Bookcase was missing several of items that usually filled it, and the small desk by her window was unusually tidy. It struck her now that it would likely be months until she returned, or had a room to herself again. She allowed herself to fall backwards fully on to her bed and take in its comforting feel for a long minute.

 _Crack!_

Holly raised her head to look at the source of the noise, who was currently standing in the middle of her floor looking around suspiciously.

"Master Sirius is coming upstairs to check that young miss is all packed and ready." Kreacher said, after spotting Holly laying on her bed.

"Thanks, Kreacher. I'm all packed."

Kreacher waved his hand and a clean pair of striped socks rolled themselves across the floor, and Holly's trunk opened obediently to swallow them.

"Oh," Holly said, embarrassed. She had been sure that she'd packed everything.

The elderly house-elf simply smiled at her and disappeared with another small _crack_. Not a full breath later, and the sound of knocking came from her door.

"'S open," Holly mumbled, without moving.

Sirius' head appeared around the door. He raised his eyebrows in mild surprise.

"Huh. You're actually packed."

He walked over and sat down on the edge of her bed. He was holding something but from the angle, Holly couldn't see what it was.

"All set then?" He said.

"All set… I'm going to miss this place."

"As soon as you're out of here I'm redecorating this room in Gryffindor colours you know."

Holly threw a pillow at him halfheartedly.

"Anyway. I wanted to give you this. I mean it belongs to you anyway but..." Sirius said as he handed her the bundle he was holding.

Holly took it in surprise. The Invisibility Cloak, as always was cold to the touch and deceptively light. She allowed the smooth material to glide over her fingers.

"Don't you need it for work?"

"Bah, it needs to be at Hogwarts, causing mischief," he waved her concerns away.

Holly sat up and gave him a tight hug. She knew the cloak was technically hers. She knew that it had belonged to the Potters, but Holly herself rarely had much use for it whereas it was invaluable to Sirius as an Auror. Hogwarts was a different matter though, she was sure she could make wonderful use of it there.

After Holly had bundled the cloak carefully into her trunk and checked her wand was in her pocket, she and Sirius made a final sweep of the house for stray items. Her scarf had been found on the sofa in the front room.

"We had better be off. I'll have to owl you everything else that you've forgotten," Sirius said teasingly.

"I haven't forgotten anything."

"You still have your slippers on."

"I _know_."

She hadn't. After a pause, she ran off to put some shoes on.

Sirius could have apparated both Holly and her trunk to Kings Cross, but instead, they hailed a muggle taxi to take them to the station. Side-along apparition was one of the worst methods of transportation imaginable, in Holly's opinion. Even the disorientating experience that was a Portkey was preferable. The less than ten-minute taxi journey was in comparison, delightful.

Holly took the barrier at a run as Sirius suggested, her trolley, trunk, and self all passing through as if it didn't exist. She found herself standing amidst the hustle of platform 9¾, and looking at a magnificent crimson steam engine. Sirius put his arm around her and began to steer her to the far end and away from the barrier. Holly was silently glad that he hadn't been able to see her flinch and shut her eyes as she passed through the barrier. It didn't take them long to spot the Weasleys, the group of six redheads would have been easy to spot even without the twins loud and overblown farewells to their family.

Ron noticed Sirius and Holly approaching first and waved them over. The twins had now taken Ginny aside and were talking animatedly to her while Molly looked concerned. Holly bumped her trolley lightly into Ron's as a greeting.

"Ginny's upset," Ron said in a low voice, nodding towards his sister and twin brothers.

"She's going to miss you," Holly said

"It's just going to be her and mum at home for most of the time now. At least this year she had me."

At that point, Ginny started laughing at something the twins had said and Molly began to look even more worried.

"No idea how they do that," Ron said, shaking his head at Ginny and the twins.

The Hogwarts Express gave a loud whistle and people all along the platform started moving in unison to get aboard. Holly turned to Sirius and gave him a long hug. He ruffled her hair but she didn't complain.

"Go on or all the compartments will be taken!" he said with a laugh.

Sirius walked to the edge of the platform and helped Holly, and the Weasleys lift each of their trunks on to the train. Sirius gave her a last quick hug and Holly wiped her eyes briefly as they said their goodbyes.

She and Ron picked the first empty compartment that they could find and the twins helped them stow their trunks in the overhead racks. Holly had to stand on the seats, while George lifted the other end of her trunk. Ron was already lanky enough that he and Fred had much less trouble. The twins disappeared to find a compartment of their own and Ron shut the door. It took her a moment but Holly located Sirius, Molly, and Ginny standing together on the platform. They waved furiously as the train began to slowly pull away after a few minutes and Ginny ran along the platform waving for much longer. Holly decided it best not to mention anything about Ron's sad expression as he watched Ginny shrink smaller and smaller into the distance. He was a good brother sometimes. They sat in silence for a while, each lost in their thoughts about family as the city of London started to slide past the window.

Neville found them after the train was underway and joined their compartment. The conversation picked up from there as the infectious excitement began to hit each of them. The three friends were catching up and speculating about everything from classes to teachers when the compartment door slid open. The bushy haired girl looked in and glanced at each face with uncertainty.

"Would it be alright if I joined your compartment? Most of the others are full.."

"Yeah sure, er are you okay?" Holly said.

She hadn't meant her words to come out as blunt as that. 'Tactfulness' was never a virtue that she or Sirius had been very good at. The girl was red in the face and judging from her expression she was at least a little upset. Behind her, she pulled her trunk by one hand.

The girl seemed as though she wanted to say more but was unsure of herself. She looked at the occupants of the compartment again before saying. "I wasn't… welcome in my original one."

"Er, come on in, I'm Holly. That's Ron and Neville."

"Hermione Granger," she said looking slightly relieved, "thank you."

Neville remembered his manners first and properly introduced himself. He and Ron lifted Hermione's trunk to the luggage rack with the others, as Hermione took a seat next to Holly. Ron and Holly introduced themselves fully after a moment too.

"Black? One of the headmasters of Hogwarts was called Black I think," Hermione said, once Holly had given her full name. "I was reading about it recently. I.. you're all purebloods then..." She trailed off as though she hadn't intended to say the last part.

"I'm a half-blood," Holly said with a smile. "My mum was muggleborn, met my dad during the war."

It was close enough to the truth that it wasn't really a lie. As far as Ron and Neville knew, it _was_ the truth. A lot of kids had lost parents. Most understood that you didn't really talk about it. Neville was a perfect example of that; everyone knew that he had been raised by his grandmother, and no one asked for any more information. If Hermione had picked up on the ' _was_ ' that Holly had used, she didn't comment. The only people that knew the truth of Holly's parentage were Sirius, Remus, Andromeda, herself, and Headmaster Dumbledore who Holly had met a number of times, although hadn't been old enough to remember much of the occasions. The way in which Hermione had timidly bought up ' _blood status_ ' as Sirius had always called it with disdain, made Holly suspect that she knew why Hermione had left her previous compartment.

"Blood makes no difference anyway," Holly said.

Again she had expected that to sound more offhand that it had. " _There's that 'subtlety and tact' again,_ " she thought. Hermione _did_ seem to relax a little at her words regardless.

"Have you tried any spells?" Hermione asked the group, "I've managed to get some to work, but only what's in 'The Standard Book of Spells: Grade One', I wanted to try and get a headstart but all of the other books are mostly theory based."

"My mum wouldn't give me my wand until this morning," Ron said, clearly annoyed by the memory.

"Er, I tried a few but I could only get sparks from most of them," Neville said with a shrug.

"Don't worry, my dad said everyone starts from scratch," Holly said, once everyone had looked at her expectantly "He helped me try a few out, just some basic things."

In truth, she had been practising basic spells for a couple of weeks now under Sirius' careful watch. She had felt bad for Ron when he had told her that Mrs. Weasley had not allowed him to have his wand until he would be leaving for Hogwarts, and so had tried not to bring the matter up.

She had practiced both disarming and the knockback jinx and was by no means an expert at either, but could semi-reliably cast both. She _had_ once managed the knockback jinx's 'big brother', the banishing charm, but had been unable to replicate the effect no matter how loud she had yelled 'depulso'. Sirius had been keen to make sure that she knew at least two spells. By his own words, ' _there was no way in hell that he was going to send his daughter off to a boarding school with no way to defend herself._ '

Before she had realized it, the train had passed out of the city and now the windows simply showed the rolling hills and small woods of England. The door slid open again while the group was speculating about Hogwarts, and a kind-faced older witch pushing a cart full of snacks stole their attention easily. Although the train hadn't departed until 11:00 am, none of them seemed to have had time for breakfast in the excitement of the day.

"Honeydukes Express," the witch announced as the door opened, "something from the trolley dears?"

Holly happily bought herself a pumpkin pasty. She also bought a few cauldron cakes, knowing full well that they were Ron's favorite. Hermione went pink and said that she hadn't known to bring any wizarding currency, and then went even pinker when Holly offered her a sickle. She had half expected the muggle-born witch to refuse, Holly knew well that Ron would have. Sirius had told her that some people found it insulting to be offered 'charity' no matter if it wasn't intended as such. Hermione didn't refuse though, she thanked Holly with a sincere smile and a promise to pay her back, and then looked dubiously at the jelly slugs, before buying a chocolate frog and a copy of The Daily Prophet.

Ron said he was amazed that anyone would buy something other than food from the trolley and Holly quietly agreed, although she kept that to herself.

"I've never read a magical newspaper," she said timidly, and then finished: "I was just… curious."

That did seem to make sense, and Ron nodded as though he agreed.

"Anyone want a cauldron cake?" Holly asked to no-one in particular, after a mouthful of her favorite, pumpkin pasty. "I think my eyes were a bit big for my stomach." She held one towards Ron and wiggled it at him temptingly.

Judging from the way Ron rolled his eyes, he wasn't much fooled by her act. Holly raised her eyebrows and wiggled the cake harder. Eventually, Ron laughed at her increasingly stupid expression and took the cake.

"Cheers mate, you're an idiot, but cheers," he said.

"I know."

They passed the hours in friendly chatter, and by answering questions about the wizarding community that Hermione asked. Eventually Hermione took out her copy of The Daily Prophet and read out some of the more amusing articles from the paper as she found them. It wasn't an entirely bad purchase, Holly admitted to herself.

"This article is _really_ nasty," Hermione said.

"Who wrote it?" Neville asked, knowingly.

"Rita Skeeter."

"Ignore it." chorused from the three other children.

"She always writes like that. Makes a point of being rude," Neville said, "did a story about my grandmother once, everything she said was untrue."

"Who's she making stuff up about this time?" Holly asked with morbid curiosity.

"One of our professors I think," Hermione said she folded the paper back and began to read aloud:

" _...Soon to be teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts at the esteemed Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Quirinus Quirrell hides a dark secret behind his disarming smile…"_

"It goes on for a bit about his background here," she read in silence for a few lines before raising her eyebrows. "This is ridiculous!

" _Quirrell took a year to travel abroad during which time he hoped to gain some practical experience for his new post at Hogwarts. Quirinus Quirrell was seen briefly in France in May where he reportedly shared a conversation with Mr. Eric Munch. The Ministry of Magic employee Mr. Munch, disappeared at the start of August and has not been seen since._ "

"That's a pretty big leap even for Skeeter," Neville said after a moment.

"She's probably just trying to stir up trouble. It's not like talking to someone a few months before they go missing makes you guilty," Ron said.

"I guess we can ask Professor Quirrell when we get to Hogwarts," Holly said with a grin.

"Yeah, ' _Hey Professor, I hope you don't mind me asking but did you kill a guy in France?_ '" Ron said sarcastically

Holly was trying not to laugh when for the third time the door to their compartment slid open with a clatter.

"We'll be arriving in ten minutes," the Prefect said, looking at each of them in turn "You should get changed into your robes now. Leave your luggage here, it will be taken to the castle."

The next several minutes involved three of them standing in the hallway while one of them would get changed, and then they would rotate. Looking down the train carriage it seemed that most people were doing something similar. The excitement was palpable in the compartment as they all sat in their plain black Hogwarts robes and the train began to slow as it passed the village of Hogsmeade.

The four of them disembarked and were met by an enormous man with a wild mane of black hair that could only have been the 'Hagrid' that Holly had heard about from Sirius. Hagrid called the first-year students over to him and slowly the shortest of the passengers started gathering around him. The rest of the students filed off towards a line of carriages, which were apparently, quite content to pull themselves.

"Alrigh' first-years," Hagrid said, towering above even the older students. "Everyone here?"

He counted the first-year students and then led them on a smaller path that winded away from the station and down to a large lake. A weathered wooden jetty stuck out into the dark waters and dozens of small rowing boats floated alongside it.

"Two or three to a boat now," he said waving the crowd of students forwards "don't crowd there's plenty o' space."

Holly took a boat with Hermione while Ron and Neville shared the next one along. Looking around for oars, Holly found none. They were seemingly unnecessary, however, as once everyone was sat in a boat, they all began to set off by themselves. The dark waters were surprisingly calm and the fleet of small boats continued smoothly ahead. The lake was far longer than it was wide and seemed to curl around and out of sight. As they followed the bend of the lake the people in the front boats began to give surprised whispers and gasps. Holly's boat was almost at the back and trying to lean forward in the boat rocked it in an unsettling way. When their boat finally rounded the corner though, Holly and Hermione gave the same audible intake of breath.

Standing majestically near the waters was the most beautiful building Holly had ever seen. The school had been described to her as a castle and that was what she had been expecting. Hogwarts was not just a castle though. Holly had never seen a building that embodied the term 'magical' as much as Hogwarts did. There was nothing that she could put her finger on if she looked at individual walls or towers and yet the building was simply 'more' than the sum of its parts.

The sun was setting now, at the far end of the lake. Brilliant red and orange splashes of light stretched across the waters towards them and painted the walls and roofs of the castle's many towers. The lights in the distant windows glowed warmly and Holly had the distinct impression that she was returning even though she was actually arriving for the first time. It was the feeling of getting home after being caught in a sudden downpour on a cold day. Holly could only describe it as the feeling of comfort.

"I never expected it to be so beautiful," Hermione said, "I've seen pictures in books but this is different somehow…"

Holly didn't manage to vocalise a reply.

* * *

The first-year students stood nervously in the Great Hall, most of them looking at the ceiling in wonder. The lack of ceiling would have been a more appropriate term. Holly watched the dark blue clouds, illuminated with the orange of the setting sun, drift over a darker sky.

The witch who had led them here, Professor McGonagall, placed a stool in front of the raised platform that held the professor's table. The quiet clack of it drew Holly's gaze from the elegant ceiling. The first years watched in confusion and the rest of the hall watched in anticipation as she set on to the stool a faded black hat.

The hat did nothing.

"Ah hem!"

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly as though she was waiting impatiently for something to happen. A ripple of laughter rolled across the students sitting at the tables, but the standing first years remained silent in confusion.

A moment of silence after Professor McGonagall's prompting and the hat jerked as though it had been rudely awoken from a deep sleep. Another wave of soft laughter across the hall. The hat opened wide at the brim as though it were a mouth, and several of the first year students gaped openly as it launched into song.

" _Not a bad song really, for a hat_ " Holly decided.

She had been more concerned with thinking about what house she would end up in, and stealing glances at the ceiling than listening to the hat's song. It had probably warranted more attention that she gave it. When the hat had finished and returned to being stationary most of the students broke into polite applause. Some of the first years joined in after a moment of processing.

"Thank god we just have to put the hat on!" Ron whispered from next to her.

Had that been what the hat had said? She wasn't sure but it was certainly a great deal better than the 'entrance exam' Sirius had been telling her about. She made a mental note to bring _that_ up when she wrote him a letter later.

Professor McGonagall stepped forward now, unrolling a large scroll of parchment that she definitely had not been holding a moment ago and in a loud clear voice spoke for all to hear.

"First-year students you will now be sorted into your houses. When I call your name you will step forward and place the Sorting Hat upon your head, and it shall sort you," She gave the first year students a moment to process this and then called out; "Abbott, Hannah!"

A blonde girl, presumably Hannah, hurried forwards and placed the hat on to her head. The hat did nothing. Silence. Holly wondered briefly if the hat had fallen asleep again. Could a hat even go to sleep? Maybe it had been an act before, to amuse the students. Apparently, this was not the case. It turned out that the hat was simply doing... whatever it was that hats did, for after another moment it opened wide again and cried out: "Hufflepuff!"

One of the four tables of students cheered loudly, several Hufflepuffs rising to their feet while doing so. The other three houses politely applauded. Hannah got up from the stool and hurried over to the table under the yellow and black banner of a badger, to sit with her new housemates. This process repeated itself for each student that sat on the stool.

"Ash, Alison!" quickly became the first Ravenclaw and while Holly was still wondering over the fact that, apparently, different students took different lengths of time to be sorted (Hannah Abbott having taken a full three times that of Alison Ash), Professor McGonagall called Holly's own name.

"Black, Holly!"

Lost in her thoughts it took Ron subtly kicking her foot to snap her to attention and she hurried forwards hoping that not too many people had noticed her daydreaming. Sitting on the stool which rocked slightly with one leg being shorter than the others it seemed, she placed the hat on to her head to discover it was far too large for her. The hat slipped entirely over her eyes and rested on the tip of her nose.

" _Great, that's a good look I'm sure,_ ' she thought to herself.

" _Not to worry my dear, I have it on good authority that I suit any head._ "

Holly jumped slightly at the voice in the back of her mind, then clasped her hands together in her lap nervously.

" _Um. Hello? I'm Holly. Are you the sorting hat?_ "

The voice actually laughed softly and Holly was glad that the hat was now covering most of her face, for she was sure that she was flushed bright red from being laughed at by a hat.

" _Yes, I am the Sorting Hat, or that is at least what they call me these days. I had another name once you know? Do you know actually? I think I've forgotten it. Nevermind I'm sure it wasn't a very good name. It's a pleasure to meet you miss Holly Black. Oh! Now that's a good name! Well, let's see where you belong shall we?._ "

At first, Holly thought the voice, which sounded neither masculine nor feminine, might have been making fun of her, but it did genuinely sound sincere. Holly found that although she tried, she couldn't quite imagine a face to match it. What she could imagine was the idea of a hat, complete with spindly arms and legs, reading a mildly interesting dossier labeled 'Holly Black.' She almost snorted aloud at the image.

" _Well well, there is certainly a desire to prove yourself._ "

Holly closed her eyes and listened to the voice speak. She clenched her hands tighter, deciding that it was likely best not to interrupt.

" _..And a penchant for mischief, dare I say it. Maybe... but no... No not Slytherin, that much is clear. There is loyalty... You would be happy in Hufflepuff..._ "

This went on for some time. As the voice in her head continued to talk seemingly to itself, Holly tried to ignore how long she had been sitting on the stool for, had she been longer than Hannah? Perhaps she would get a record for taking the longest to be sorted. She could write to Sirius about how she had been awarded a trophy on her first day. That would amuse him.

" _Ah then it comes down to that I suppose. Yes, I think you will do very well in GRYFFINDOR!_ "

Holly heard the last word twice, once as a whisper in the back of her mind and again as a bellow from the front of the hat. It snapped her out of her musing and caused her to jump again. She lifted the hat off gently, now a little more courteous that she had been before she had basically had a conversation with it, and placed it upon the stool. Blushing from the many sets of eyes on her, she hurried over to the cheering Gryffindor table with her gaze mostly on the ground, but an uncontrollable grin on her face.

" _The same house as my parents,_ " she thought happily as she took a seat at the table, thinking of both Sirius, and James and Lily.

"Good to have you, Holly!" Percy Weasley gave her a smile from the opposite side of the table which she returned excitedly.

By the time her attention was back on the sorting "Boot, Terry" was already being announced as the second Ravenclaw of the year, Susan Bones, apparently having gone to Hufflepuff to join Hannah. Holly noticed that the Hogwarts 'H' on Terry Boot's robes was now a blue, and looked down at her own robes to find that her's was a deep crimson. She tried to watch the first year students being sorted and pinpoint the moment when the colour actually changed, but simply couldn't. One moment they would put the Sorting Hat on, the logo as black as their robes and when they stood up it would match their house colours. There was no 'change' to speak of, it was as though the colours had always been there even though Holly knew full well it hadn't been. She soon found that staring at the 'H' without blinking not only didn't help her spot the change, it also started to give her a headache, so she decided to try to ignore it.

Lavender Brown was the next Gryffindor, and the blonde-haired girl joined the table grinning widely and sporting a red 'H' on her robes that matched Holly's. After several more students were sorted Fay Dunbar and Seamus Finnigan joined the Gryffindor table too.

Holly recognized a few of the names that were called but it wasn't until "Granger, Hermione!" that she recognized a face, and soon the bushy haired girl was dropping into a seat next to her looking slightly nauseous as Holly congratulated her. They both cheered loudly along with the rest of the house as Neville was sorted into Gryffindor. The round-faced boy slumped into a seat across from Hermione and promptly buried his face in his hands out of embarrassment, (he'd almost run off with the hat still on his head). After a long wait and many students being sorted into their separate houses, 'Dean Thomas' and 'Parvati Patil' joining the Gryffindor table, finally Ron was rushing over to join them with relief plain on his face. Percy congratulated his brother proudly as the twins cheered something about Weasleys and Gryffindor loudly from further down the table.

Ron grinned at Holly and Neville, clearly glad that the three friends were together. Holly was silently relieved to share the sentiment. She introduced Hermione to Percy and pointed out Fred and George, as Ron's brothers. There were no more Gryffindors after Ron. By the time introductions had properly been made, "Blaise, Zabini!" was sitting down at the Slytherin table and Professor McGonagall was carrying off both the Sorting Hat and the stool. The general chatter around the hall died quickly as the headmaster stood and beamed around at them all

"To Hogwarts newest additions, I say welcome! I hope that Hogwarts will prove to be as much a home to you as I myself have found it to be for many years," Dumbledore spread his arms wide as if to take the entire hall into his embrace and smiled fondly. "Knowledge! That is why we are all here of course. I remind you all, however, that when we stare into the depths of knowledge, the depths stare into us, and we are never left unchanged."

Dumbledore smiled for a moment at the silence that his odd words had caused, then brought his hands together with a soft clap, causing gasps from the new students as every plate, pitcher and bowl up and down the tables unexpectedly filled with every food and drink that Holly could imagine.

The feast truly lived up to the reputation that Sirius had built for it. The sheer variety of food alone was almost overwhelming. More than that though, it was some of the best food Holly had ever tasted. A second helping of roast potatoes, crisp edges still glistening, joined her plate as she, Hermione, Ron, and Neville talked excitedly about the events since the train.

Holly found herself well and truly stuffed as the food and plates disappeared from the table once everyone had finished eating. She groaned audibly as desserts of every type replaced them a moment later.

"I really shouldn't have had seconds," she said, looking longingly at the cheesecake that had appeared within arms reach.

No one else seemed to have made the mistake that Holly had, or if they had they simply had far larger appetites. The rest of the table began digging into the desserts with just as much enthusiasm as the first course, and Ron laughed at Holly as he watched her visually struggle with the concept of either eating more or missing out on dessert.

It felt like it was an hour before everyone had seemed to finish, and Holly had eventually managed to help herself to a small slice of the best cheesecake she had ever tasted. The dishes and plates along the table all vanished but as almost every student seemed to have pushed their abandoned plates away or be either leaning back sleepily, no-one complained.

"Now that we are all too full to retreat quickly, I have a few announcements to make," the headmaster stood again and spoke in an amused tone. "Firstly, Professor Quirrell will be tackling the task of teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts for the year, and Professor Burbage will be graduating from assistant to full time teaching for Muggle Studies."

Both mentioned professors stood from their places at the high-table and took short bows as a polite round of applause echoed around the great hall. Dumbledore paused for a moment while he applauded for the professors himself.

"The second announcement is that the Forbidden Forest is, as some of you may have suspected, forbidden. Rest assured that this applies to all students, and those who are found to be too curious about the wonders that the forest holds will be invited to share their evenings in detention with Mr. Filch."

A 'whoop' came from somewhere down the table and to Holly's surprise, Dumbledore smiled broadly as though he couldn't have been prouder.

"It's like he's daring us to go," Ron whispered, "...'the wonders that it holds'?"

Holly nodded in agreement. It _was_ an oddly inviting way of saying that somewhere was off-limits.

"And finally," Dumbledore continued "A reminder that the notice boards in your house common rooms are there for your benefit and 'forgetting to check the notice board' is not an excuse for missing a rescheduled class."

A few people around the hall laughed sheepishly at this.

"And now, there is still a few hours of the evening left for those of you who are eager to do some studying!"

A lot of students laughed at Dumbledore's joke, but some of the seventh years just groaned, likely realizing that with their NEWTs approaching, they probably should take his advice. The first-year students followed the Prefects back to the common rooms. For Gryffindor, this meant following Percy Weasley up three flights of stairs, down another one and again up a final two.

Gryffindor tower was cozy and comfortable despite the tiring walk that they had to endure to get there. The Prefects had explained a lot about Gryffindor tower, the portrait of the fat lady, and Gryffindor as a house. Holly hadn't taken much of it on board. She had begun to feel fatigued halfway through the feast and although she hadn't physically done much today aside from sitting down in several different locations, she was exhausted. Alex Sykes, the other Gryffindor Prefect, showed the first-year girls to their dorm room and they all filled in obediently.

The dorm room was located in a smaller tower that sprouted out from Gryffindor tower at the fourth floor. The first years had the bottom floor of the tower, and each year above would have one floor higher. Holly was relieved that it would be six years until she would be required to climb as many additional flights of stairs every day. The dorm room _was_ nice. It wasn't the plush comfort that her room at home had offered, but it had a cozy feel to it. Each girl had a small wardrobe-and-desk combination to the side of a four-poster bed. Holly was ready to simply bid goodnight to the other girls and fall face first onto her bed fully dressed, but she forced herself over to her trunk.

Unlocking it and throwing the lid open she pulled out a sheet of parchment and her stationary supplies. The rest of her unpacking could wait until the morning. She sat at the desk beside her bed and found it to be dangerously comfortable - she was liable to fall asleep here if she wasn't careful. She inked her quill and began to write before she distracted herself any longer.

 _Dad,_

 _I made it, I'm at Hogwarts. It's amazing, I can't wait to explore it tomorrow._

 _I got sorted into Slytherin, sorry._ (she couldn't help but laugh as she wrote this.) _The feast was wonderful, I ate too much - you would have been proud. Ron and Neville both got sorted into Gryffindor._

 _Thanks for telling me about the 'entrance exam', you arse. The Sorting Hat was weird but cool. It laughed at me and I think it might have been making fun of me at one point._

 _I'll write you a longer letter next time but I'm honestly about to fall asleep._

 _I miss you._

 _Love, your daughter._

 _P.S. I was joking about the Slytherin thing, CALM DOWN. You can keep the Gryffindor colours you've no doubt already decorated my bedroom with._

She sealed the letter and got up wearily and headed back to the common room. Alex Sykes was nowhere to be found, but Percy was by the noticeboard pinning something on to it.

"Hey Percy," Holly said, waving the sealed letter "Uh, can you show me where the owlery is?"

Percy smiled at her and agreed, but said she'd have to wait until he had gone and forced Ron to write a letter to his parents. A few minutes later Ron joined them with his own hastily written letter. In his defence, he looked as tired as Holly felt. Percy led Holly, Ron and a few of the other first years to the owelry and showed them how to clearly instruct the owls where to take the letters and then ushered them back to the seductive warmth of Gryffindor tower.

Holly managed to place her glasses on her bedside table and pull her thick outer-robe over her head before she wriggled on to her bed and was fast asleep, face down within moments.

* * *

-Authors Note-

I really wanted to squeeze the first touches of horror into this chapter but the length was already getting away from me, and post-sorting was the most appropriate place to leave it. Next chapter, I promise.

As always I hope you enjoyed the chapter, updates will likely be every 2-3 weeks and reviews are greatly appreciated.


	4. Chapter 4

Holly Black and the Reflection of Fear

 _Chapter 4._

The week of the 2nd - 7th September, 1991.

Holly had begun experiencing the first stirrings of anticipation the moment she had awoken. Even while the prefect Alex was still yelling through their door, Holly's mind had been turning to what her first day of magical education would hold for her. She had not expected the real excitement to begin until the first lessons.

Several minutes of hurried dressing and animated chatter, mainly from Hermione, Holly made her way into the common room with the other girls of her year. They were greeted by a small crowd of Gryffindor students huddled around a large noticeboard to the side of the portrait-hole that served as the exit to the rest of the castle. Far too short to see over the heads of even the students her own age, nevermind the older Gryffindors, Holly made her way over to Percy Weasley.

He seemed to be attempting to herd the first-year students into a group. In Holly's opinion, he seemed to be failing at this.

"Morning Percy," she said brightly, despite her personal opinions on mornings. "How's life as a prefect?"

He winced at her in response. Holly figured that it was probably a lot of responsibility, even when it didn't involve trying to organize excited new students.

"What's all that about?" She nodded at the noticeboard, and the students gathered around it.

"There's always some start of term notices posted there…" He hesitated for a moment while he tried to count the first-year students. "The sign-ups for clubs get posted there too, I imagine that's what most of the fuss is about."

Holly looked back at the noticeboard with a little more interest now. She had no idea what sort of clubs there would be but it was certainly worth checking out. If she remembered correctly, Remus had mentioned the Gobstones club before but that held little interest for her.

"Before you get too excited, I think half the house has signed up for Quidditch already."

"Quidditch?" Holly raised an eyebrow. "I would have thought you would know me better than that by now. It's your brothers that are fanatical for Quidditch."

Percy gave her an understanding smile. Out of all the Weasley children she probably knew Percy the least, but they did share similar opinions on the sport. Holly enjoyed Quidditch. She enjoyed watching it. Sometimes she even enjoyed throwing a beaten old Quaffle around the Weasley orchard, and lazily floating her broom around. It was a game which Ron and the twins took far more seriously than Holly. Playing competitively though didn't appeal to her.

That was what she told everyone at least. It was the truth, or half of it, in any case. The other half would be that anything more vigorous on a broom terrified her. She didn't tell anyone that if she tried to push a broom to go as fast as her friends often did, or took it too high, her legs and arms would shake and she would grip the broomstick so hard that her knuckles turned white. She suspected Sirius knew and maybe even Ron too, but she never _said_ anything.

Ron hurried up them, excitement written plain across his face.

"Holly! You gotta' come see this!" he said, grabbing her arm.

"You know I'm not going to sign up for Quidditch with you right?

"It's not Quidditch." he tugged her towards the notice board.

"Oh no. No, no, no. I'm not joining the chess club with you, you always beat me and it's just depressing, besides I…"

"Its. Not. Chess." he punctuated each word by tugging her closer to the crowd of people. "Trust me!"

They reached the crowd of students and Ron began to push his way through, still trailing a bemused Holly. Thankfully by this time, it seemed that a lot of the students had managed to sign up for their respective clubs and the crowd was thinning enough for them to slip into a gap at the front.

The noticeboard was littered with various pieces of parchment advertising clubs. The Quidditch one seemed to have pride of place right in the center and already trailed a list of at least twenty signatures.

"Ron, what am I looking for? There are loads of…"

"On the left! The one with blue ink." he pointed eagerly to a smaller notice with neat lettering.

 _ **Hogwarts Duelling Club.**_

 _Notice is hereby given to all students that there will be a new addition to Hogwarts' prestigious list of extracurricular clubs. The aim of this club will be the study of both duelling etiquette and practice._

 _Anyone that is interested in joining, or would simply like to know more is invited to come to the first meeting in a weeks time. This first meeting will be for all years and will include a demonstration and time for students to ask any questions that they may have. Following this, the duelling club will meet once a month, with each year-group having a separate meeting. Students will be welcome to observe the meetings for other years but will only be allowed participation in the meeting for their own year._

 _There will be a friendly competition for each year at the end of the school year._

 _Any students from sixth year onwards who would like to assist in the running and organisation of this club will be greatly appreciated and will be able to earn extra credit towards their Defence Against The Dark Arts grade._

 _ **For the first meeting, assemble outside the Great Hall at 8 PM on Sunday 8th of September.**_

 _ **Professor Quirinus Quirrell**_

Holly felt her face split into a wide grin. Now _that,_ was a club that she would be interested in. Ron slapped her on the back as he laughed at her expression.

"I had a feeling that you'd like that."

The excitement of the day was palpable around the first-year students as the prefects lead them down to breakfast. Most of their talk was occupied by speculation about their first lessons, or the which clubs that they were interested in. Ron had signed up for Quidditch trials, as had most of the male Gryffindor first-years, and he was already deep in conversation with them about what tactics he was going to use to show his prowess. One of Holly's dorm-mates, Fay Dunbar, had signed up for the Hogwarts choir and a few of the first-years had put their names down for the Gobstones club. There had been no 'sign up' area for the Duelling Club, but Holly had made it abundantly clear that she would be attending, and Hermione said that she would at least attend the first meeting with her. Ron had agreed too, providing that it wouldn't clash with Quidditch practice. Holly didn't point out that he would have to be selected for the team before worrying about that.

Breakfast was much the same as dinner the night before in that Holly found it both delicious and overwhelming. The anticipation of the day seemed to have driven her appetite away. She had barely finished a piece of marmite on toast, to Hermione's disgust, before she was being handed a timetable by her head of house, Professor McGonagall.

Their first lesson was to be Transfiguration, followed by charms and then after lunch, herbology. All three sounded interesting enough to Holly. She knew that Transfiguration would be taught by their head of house and that Charms would be taught by Professor Flitwick. The last thought stuck in her mind, especially as she remembered vividly watching Rookwood and Flitwick duel at the 'All-England Dueling Championship' two years ago.

Professor McGonagall announced to the Gryffindor first-years that as their first lesson would be with her, there would be no need to the prefects to guide them to their classroom and that she would do it herself. Although at first impression appearing strict, she talked pleasantly with the first-years as they made their way to the third floor. She asked each of them in turn what interests they had and didn't seem too perturbed when most of them didn't have much of a coherent answer. Along the way Professor McGonagall would point out various aspects of the castle and Holly would try her best to memorize their location, but soon lost track. They had reached the third floor and had just passed the library. Holly was making a mental note to remember that it was just one right turn after the statue of the one-eyed witch, when they came to their classroom.

Another group of students stood waiting outside the classroom, accompanied by a prefect that Holly recognized as 'Abbie', the girl that had been working in Madam Malkin's during the summer.

"Thank you, Miss Alderton, I shall take them from here." Professor McGonagall said, waving the students into the classroom.

Abbie nodded to the Professor and said a few words to her Hufflepuff first-years before turning to leave for her own lesson. She gave Holly a quick wave as she hurried past, which Holly returned with a grin before she filed into the Transfiguration classroom after the other students.

Once the students were all seated, Professor McGonagall strode to the front of the class and brandished her wand. The high-backed chair that sat behind her desk flowed from its stiff wooden form, into the shape of a large black cat. The chair-turned-feline raised its head and lightly stepped away from the desk. Once it reached the Professor, it circled a spot on the floor behind her as though it was trying to decide whether the spot would be comfortable. Apparently, it was satisfied, for with another liquid motion it returned to being a chair, and McGonagall sat back into it silently watching her class.

Most of the students were quietly whispering about the display and there had been a few outright gasps. Whenever Holly had seen Sirius Transfigure something, there was an entirely different quality to it. Most often, large Transfigurations would jerk or twitch into a new form. In some cases, different parts of the object would transform at different rates. Professor McGonagall's chair had flowed from one form into the other as though it had not a care in the world. It had appeared effortless. There was an elegance it seemed, that came with true mastery.

"Transfiguration," McGonagall began, in a brisk voice, "is a widely misunderstood branch of magic."

The students watched intently as the Professor trucked her wand back into her robes in silence.

"I did not take my chair and make it into a cat," McGonagall said. leaning back into the chair, she clasped her hands in her lap and looked around the students for a long moment. "Transfiguration is to take the chair and convince it that its very nature has always been that of a cat. We do not do this by talking to the object of course, although words are important. We achieve this change by shaping the object with our magic. Many witches and wizards can perform basic Transfiguration, but will never achieve a true understanding because they do not understand one simple concept..."

She paused here to look around the class again. Whether this was for dramatic effect or to ensure that every student was paying attention Holly was unsure. McGonagall didn't seem like the type for feigned showmanship, but she also seemed equally unlikely to be the type of teacher that had trouble holding the student's attention.

"You can not _force_ a Transfiguration. You must forge an agreement between yourself, your magic and the object."

She remained silent for another moment, allowing the students to process her words. Holly realized that Hermione was rapidly copying down the Professor's words. Some of the other students were writing too but most were sitting silently. Holly was debating whether she should pull her own parchment out of her bag and follow her friend's example when McGonagall stood up.

"As this is our first lesson, I shall not overwhelm you with theory until the second half of the period." McGonagall smiled as a few students laughed nervously at this announcement. "It is far easier to understand the concepts when you have attempted to change an object first. If everyone would like to collect a matchstick from the front desk..."

Holly quickly discovered that Transfiguration wasn't as easy as she had hoped. She had in no way expected it to be simple, but after almost an hour all she had to show for her work was a matchstick and a headache. McGonagall strode between the tables, giving tips here and there, correcting wand grips, and instructing but mostly just letting the students experiment. At one point she stopped at Holly's desk and held up Hermione's distinctly silver matchstick.

"This is a good example,"

Hermione's face split into a triumphant smile.

"of a forced Transfiguration."

Hermione's face fell.

"A forced Transfiguration is unstable."

As if to illustrate this point the matchstick faded back to its normal colour.

"Five points to Gryffindor for an admirable attempt miss Granger. You're on the right track, but you're forcing the change too much."

The reward of house-points brightened Hermione considerably and she returned to her previous smile. Holly had been repeating the Professor's quiet tips in her mind while she worked on her own matchstick.

" _Don't force it. Alright mister matchstick, I really need you to be a needle for just a moment- no no, you ARE a needle, I just need you to remember that!"_

There _had_ been a moment where Holly thought she may have been doing… _something_.

" _Come on, you're a needle so why are you pretending to be a matchstick? I- Why am I talking to you? I'm supposed to be using my magic not talking to you… Did you just twitch? Did I do that? Damn it stop distracting me you're not getting off the hook that easy!"_

On second thought maybe she had been imagining things.

" _OK, stop talking to the matchsti-_ _ **needle**_ _! Stop talking to the_ _ **needle**_ _, Holly."_

She poked her definitely-a-matchstick with her wand in frustration.

" _Please?"_

The matchstick did nothing.

By the time Holly was lining up outside the Charms classroom with the other Gryffindors, her headache had mostly subsided. The second half of the lesson had been dedicated to theory and she now felt that she understood at least a little better. Transfiguration had been… surprising. It was not what Holly had expected, and she couldn't help but feel disappointed at her lack of success. Her excitement though, would not be crushed by her inability to convince a matchstick it was really a needle. The second lesson of the day was Charms, and that meant…

"Charms now," Holly said while she rocked from her heels onto her toes and back.

"Yup," Ron said.

"Charms is taught by p-"

"Professor Flitwick." Ron chorused, rolling his eyes.

"He was a due-"

"Duelling champion," he said, mimicking Holly again, "you've mentioned it, I think."

Holly grinned in apology but found she couldn't bring herself to actually vocalize it.

They shared Charms lessons with the Ravenclaw students, and Holly had to admit that she was a little bit jealous that they would have Flitwick as a head-of-house. Although on reflection she acknowledged that she didn't actually know the man, and Professor McGonagall was very friendly despite her strict persona.

Flitwick turned out to be a lively and cheerful teacher. In much the same way as Transfiguration, the Charms lesson started with Flitwick demonstrating a few basic charms and then having the students attempt them on some objects. To start with they were set the task of producing three separate colours of sparks from their wands. Generally, a useless charm but they were told it was an important step in learning to focus and shape their magic. To Holly's delight, and slight relief, she took to it far easier than Transfiguration and earned five points for Gryffindor house for being the first student to produce green, red and blue sparks. More importantly, she could replicate it when Flitwick asked her to, and so she had been given a feather and instructed to practice the levitation charm.

The sparks had been easy really, and the levitation charm wasn't too difficult. She could perform it at least, even if she wasn't quite as 'in-control' of the feather as she wanted. Flitwick had to summon it back from where Holly had lodged against the ceiling of the classroom much to Ron's amusement. Her ease with the spells didn't really surprise her as she had been practicing similar spells with Sirius ever since she had got her wand. It wasn't _strictly_ allowed but she was sure that she wasn't the only one. A few of the Ravenclaw students seemed suspiciously adept at the charm too. She spent most of the lesson after that helping both Ron and Hermione with their spells; as neither would have been able to practice at home which made Holly feel slightly guilty. Even though Charms was only an hour long lesson, all three of them had the basics down by the end and they left for lunch with wide smiles. Partly because Flitwick had been demonstrating the cheering charm to amuse the students, but Holly was sure at least some of it was genuine pride shining through.

The morning had passed swiftly by and they spent most of lunch talking about the two different lessons. Holly was almost disappointed that the afternoon lessons for the day would likely require little to no spell casting. Herbology was next for the Gryffindors, and despite her initial misgivings, Holly discovered that she sincerely enjoyed it.

The two hour period was spent in the long greenhouses out on the Hogwarts grounds. Although it was the start of autumn, the sun was out and shining down on the greenhouses. The relaxing heat of the greenhouses combined with the delicious lunch they had all enjoyed just before and quickly lulled Holly into a contented comfort.

Professor Sprout showed them around, pointing out various different plants while they took notes. Holly wrote down the uses and properties of the plants, how to identify them, and which plants to avoid until they were far more experienced with herbology. She even tried drawing a few of the plants after watching Parvati do so, but soon decided against that when Professor Sprout had complimented Holly's drawing of a Puffapod. Holly didn't mention that it was actually a poor drawing of a Bouncing Bulb.

The last lesson was arguably the lesson Holly was least looking forward to. It was also the one Ron was most looking forward to. The sun was low in the afternoon sky as most of the students excitedly lined up with broomsticks, and a few of them nervously did so.

It hadn't gone as badly as it could have. Madam Hooch had each student tell her how much flying they had done in the past and split them up into three groups based on experience. She had two older students with her and introduced them as the Quidditch captains for Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. The team captains would often help with first-year lessons, she had explained.

Madam Hooch took the group of 'most experienced' students, and after a few minutes rearranged the groups herself. Several students from the 'most-experienced' group were moved to one of the other two, depending on how much they had over exaggerated their skills.

Holly's group were given relatively simple instructions by the Hufflepuff captain, and they spent most of the time hovering a few meters of the ground throwing a Quaffle back and forth, without moving much. The older Hufflepuff would fly around them and correct their grips, and try to encourage them to move around more. Ron seemed to be having the time of his life over in his smaller group of more experienced flyers, as Madam Hooch barked instructions at them.

Before Holly fully realized it, her first full day of Hogwarts education was drawing to a close. After Flying lessons, they all headed back to Gryffindor tower. Hermione decided to get started on the homework that Professor Sprout had set them, with an enthusiasm that frankly disgusted Holly. Ron managed to get one of the other boys, Dean, to agree to a game of chess after Holly had refused. There was nothing to be gained by having the entirety of Gryffindor common room watch Ron thrash her at chess. Instead, she opted to have a shower and then left to try and find the library before lunch.

It was the first time that she had the opportunity to simply explore the castle, and so with her hair still damp from the shower, she left the Gryffindor common room. At first, she simply strolled the fourth floor from Gryffindor tower to the opposite end. Aside from classrooms, there was a long balcony that looked over the grounds, and a branching corridor that would lead to the Hospital Wing. Eventually, Holly decided on a small staircase at the end of the corridor. It looked like it might take her to the third floor. She had been eager to find the library, not for any academic reason, but more because of the stories that she had heard of it.

"The greatest library in magical Britain." Remus had said.

"You can find anything in there." Sirius had said, mischievously.

She didn't find anything in the library, but only because she didn't find the library at all. Taking a narrow spiral staircase down a single floor from the fourth floor, she had found herself on the ground floor, on the opposite side of the castle. Bemused, she took a different flight of stairs when she found her way back to the main entrance, and after climbing two flights of steps found herself on the fifth floor.

Thoroughly puzzled by this, she had asked an older student how to get to the library, and he had directed her towards a small door at the end of the corridor. Holly discovered upon opening it that it did not contain the staircase she had expected, but simply opened directly from the fifth floor onto the third floor.

She had passed the statue of the one-eyed witch and could actually see the library when she had her first encounter with Peeves. There had been a few of the ghosts around during the day, but she had never spoken to any of them. Peeves it turned out, wasn't one for conversation. Holly was a quick runner if nothing else, and had thankfully escaped from the poltergeist pretty quickly.

It was almost an hour later, when after much more exploring, and another encounter with peeves, that she had found her way back to Gryffindor common room.

"Hey guys," she said cheerfully as she joined a group of the first-years.

"How was the library?" Hermione asked, concentrating on her essay.

"No idea. Didn't find it."

"I th-... Why are you dripping wet?"

"I met Peeves," Holly said brightly, "twice actually. He had a bucket of water the second time."

Alex Sykes noticed Holly and came over to offer a drying charm and her promises that she would talk to McGonagall about Peeves.

"He usually doesn't bother first-years!" she had said while making sure Holly was alright.

And she was, honestly. It was harmless enough, and she could admit that it had been a pretty fun half an hour, being chased around the castle by the laughing poltergeist.

The rest of the week passed in just as much excitement. Each new day brought new experiences and lessons. Holly slowly began to get better at navigating the castle throughout the week, finding the lessons wasn't too much of an issue as for the first few days they would have either Alex or Percy leading them to their lessons, but the prefects wouldn't always be available.

Ron and Neville were both ten minutes late for the first potions lesson which had earned them a detention every evening until the end of the week. Professor Snape had not been inclined to forgive them on account of being new students and had made an effort to point out that " _every other student has managed to locate the classroom."_

The rest of that lesson had been spent mostly in silence, copying down whatever Professor Snape had instructed them to. There would be no potion making, he had said, until he was sure that he could trust them with a boiling cauldron. It was a little annoying but from the way that Professor Snape had demonstrated the care and attention that was needed when there was _just one_ boiling cauldron in a room, it was understandable. Potions lessons apparently had a higher injury rate than any other subject at Hogwarts.

Professor Snape made it abundantly clear he believed that most of these accidents could be avoided. In spite of the lack of practical teaching for the first lesson, Potions _was_ interesting. Snape had shown the class several different potions and explained their effects, some of which Holly thought could be highly amusing if used in the right way.

In stark contrast to the dark ambiance of the Potions classroom, which Hermione had said was likely because some potions could be affected by sunlight, and Ron had said was because Professor Snape was a git who clearly liked his students being miserable, the History of Magic classroom was well lit by tall windows which ran down the walls. Sunlight passed through them and left shafts of light cutting across the classroom. Holly watched the dust motes drifting lazily in the light as the Professor, a ghost named Binns, talked about the various topics they would cover over the year.

Professor Binns, as a ghost, apparently did not need to breathe. This was demonstrated by the way he began talking and simply didn't stop until he was finished. A living person would have needed to take a breath, but Professor Binns just continued in a single unbroken voice until he had said what he intended to. The long continuous stream of words and the singular tone in which they were said had a unique effect. Holly did try her best to pay attention, but she wasn't the only one who was soon staring off into space or chatting quietly while the Professor taught. Hermione was one of the only people in the classroom who was still trying to write down what the Professor was saying.

Holly amused herself by repeatedly casting 'Wingardium Leviosa' on Hermione's quill, much to the other witch's annoyance.

"Really Holly, must you be so… so…"

"Annoying?" Ron offered with an understanding smile. He had known Holly for far longer.

"Amusing?" Holly said with a grin.

Hermione simply rolled her eyes and snatched her quill back out of the air.

Each class, Holly was discovering, would be vastly different from the others. The mood of the classroom and the way in which the students acted during the lessons seemed to be unique to each subject. Even the very way in which they would be learning differed between the classes. In a small way, the classes seemed to take on a part of the persona of the Professors, although perhaps it was the other way around.

Defence was yet again an example of this. It was neither the respectful silence that Professor Snape or McGonagall effortlessly held during their classes, or the relaxed ease that Herbology or Charms seemed to inspire. When they first entered the classroom, they found Professor Quirrell lounging in his chair with his feet up on his desk, and reading a magazine which he appeared to be holding upside-down.

For a moment he just ignored the students that were filling his classroom and continued reading his magazine. Quirrell turned a page and rotated the magazine, holding it at arm's length with a puzzled expression on his face. Holly wondered if he was waiting for someone to say something, if this was perhaps some sort of test for his new students. Looking around the defence classroom, she saw numerous strange items. Some were strange in a blatantly magical sense. There was a hatstand behind the Professor's desk which had a turban on it that held its shape, despite not being tied around any visible head. The ends of the fabric swayed gently in a distracting way, even though there was no noticeable breeze in the room. There was an elaborate wardrobe, trimmed with a golden inlay that had a large pair of eyes painted on the front, which would slowly blink and look around at the students. There was a book sitting innocently on a small end table next to Quirrell's desk that Holly couldn't focus on - her eyes would simply slide over it every time she tried to look at it.

Other parts of the classroom were strange in a different way. Strange purely by their presence rather than any apparent magical properties, such as the muggle football that was wedged under one of the legs of Quirrell's desk, causing the entire thing to rock precariously if he shifted even slightly.

Apparently, Quirrell's silence was not a test. After a moment longer the Professor sighed and dropped the magazine to his desk. He glanced up at the class of patiently quiet students with an air of curiosity.

"Are any of you good at crosswords?"

Confused silence greeted the Professor's question.

"Well," he said with a deep sigh as he kicked his feet off his desk, and bounced out of his chair, "I suppose I had better teach you something then..."

He was a tall, thin man with short cropped dark hair and a hawkish face. Holly thought he might not have slept well because he had dark circles around his eyes and appeared to need a shave. He wasn't lacking energy though, he covered the width of the room in just a few quick strides of his lanky legs. Reaching the blackboard, he did another thing that none of the teachers so far had done. The other Professors simply waved their wands, and words would appear on the blackboard, or else conjured a piece of chalk that would write for them. Quirrell did not. He picked up a piece of chalk and began writing by hand. Quick, messy words. When he stood back, Holly was able to read ' _Defence Against the Dark Arts._ '

"Can anyone tell me what lesson this is?" Professor Quirrell asked.

Nervously a few hands raised into the air. Most of the students seemed completely bewildered. Quirrell pointed at one of Holly's dorm-mates.

"Defence... Against the Dark Arts… sir?" she said nervously.

"Excellent!" He clapped his hands together and gave a genuine smile. "Two points to Gryffindor, Miss?..."

"Fay Dunbar, Sir." She said, cautiously.

Holly thought it was probably the easiest two house points any of them were ever likely to get.

"What, do we mean by the _'Dark Arts'_?" Quirrell said, pointing at the blackboard.

Several students raised their hands into the air, and Quirrell pointed at them each in turn.

"People casting dark spells."

"Dark magic."

"Illegal spells."

"All correct. All dangerous to a young, defenceless student." He smiled at the class again. "It is important to understand though, that illegal spells and dark wizards are not the only things that you might have to defend yourself against. Magical creatures injure and kill far more often. Non-magical creatures can be just as dangerous. I am not going to teach you to defeat a dark-lady who is attacking you for insulting her sense of fashion. Neither am I going to teach you to kill an infestation of Grindylows that you angered by swimming in their pond."

Several students laughed at these examples and Quirrell waited for silence before continuing.

"I am going to teach you to defend yourselves. Not as a class, but as individuals. The most important thing I can teach you is to always play to your strengths." he paused staring off into space as though he was considering something, "I should have saved that for the end. That would have been a great way to end the lesson. I suppose it's a little too early to finish the lesson there..."

Holly laughed along with the most of the class. Professor Quirrell was odd, but something about the way he spoke, the way he carried himself, made Holly feel incredibly at ease. Hermione looked scandalized that a Professor was making jokes for his classes amusement, and Holly made a mental note to tease her about it later on.

Quirrell apparently, decided against ending the class there and instead began showing each of the students a basic form of the shield charm, and some of the more advanced uses of it. In its most straightforward form, cast with a forward extended wand the shield could block physical objects from passing through. One of the more advanced forms involved a parrying motion, where it could be used to redirect an incoming spell away from yourself. Holly watched carefully and with interest when the Professor demonstrated that. Parrying a spell was a well-known staple of duelling.

They didn't practice the advanced forms though. Quirrell made sure that each student could cast the spell and hold a shield for at least a second. Once he was satisfied he began to call them to the front of the class one by one, where he would have them cast their shield and he would summon various items and banish them towards the students. It would have been terrifying in all honesty, if Quirrell's summoned items hadn't been mainly stuffed toys which would explode into confetti upon hitting even the weakest shield.

Each banished item was accompanied by a loud _bang_ when it hit the shield and a cry of amusement from Quirrell who seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself. It was a contagious sort of amusement, and soon the class were cheering along every time a stuffed-animal would explode, and spray the room with stuffing and glitter. By the end of the two-hour lesson, they had moved onto seeing how many impacts the students could withstand before their shield would break. Holly had managed to deflect twelve stuffed toys before she saw the telltale cracks spiderweb their way over her shield and it disintegrated into bright light. The next stuffed toy hit her in the face and harmlessly fell to the floor before gently puffing glitter all over her shoes. She laughed along with the rest of the class as she straightened her glasses. Quirrell had awarded her and a Ravenclaw student both ten points for having the longest lasting shields.

At the end of the lesson, Quirrell handed them each a homework assignment on a small slip of parchment and they left the classroom in high spirits, despite how much Holly's ribs hurt from laughing.

"I have to bring him a ' _pinecone bigger than my head_ '!" Holly said in an incredulous voice, as she spooned mashed potatoes onto her plate of sausages.

"Mine just says that I need to bring 'something uncatchable'!" Ron said.

"Do you think he might be…"

"A bit mad?" Hermione offered. "My assignment was to bring him 'an absence of everything' so yes, he is absolutely mad."

They were interrupted by the arrival of the post, as a large barn owl landed in the middle of the table and sent a pitcher of pumpkin juice precariously wobbling in front of Holly. She pulled the letter off eagerly and began to open it.

"It's from my dad," she said, in response to Ron's question.

 _Dear Hollyberry._

Ron snorted from beside her as he read the letter and Holly gave him an elbow in the ribs in retaliation before she continued to read.

 _It fills my heart with joy to hear from you, I thought you might have forgotten about me already. It's so lonely here without you. Moony only visits me twice a day, and Andi and Dora are too busy asking about you to talk about me!_

 _I've given Kreacher your bedroom, and we painted his cupboard in Slytherin colours for you, I know you'll love it when you get home for Christmas._

 _I must admit that I'm disappointed that you hadn't broken any rules by the time you wrote me your first letter, but I trust that by the time this reaches you, you will have made more of an effort._

 _Remember to make good use of that old cloak I gave you, it was my favorite when I was at Hogwarts and I know it smells a bit funny but that's only because we never washed it._

 _Don't you dare wash it._

 _Love, Sirius._

"He gave you an old cloak?" Ron asked disgustedly.

She watched Hermione chastise Ron for being nosy, and took great pleasure in his embarrassed apology. She shrugged though and assured her that she had known Ron for long enough that she didn't care.

"Besides, Ron's one of the few people that finds my dad's jokes _funny_."

She offered the letter to Hermione as proof that she really didn't mind Eventually the other girl took the letter, with a questioning glance. Holly knew well enough to read between the lines and work out what Sirius actually meant behind his humor.

 _I miss you. Remus, Andi, and Dora are all thinking about you. I'm glad you're in Gryffindor but I wouldn't have cared if you were in Slytherin. Break as many rules as you can, but don't get caught._

"Did he really give you an old cloak?" Hermione asked, before adding a sly smirk " _Hollyberry_?"

"I… Oh Merlin, that name had better not stick."

"Answer the question, _Hollyberry_ ," Ron said with a wide grin.

The rest of the week passed in a blur and before Holly had fully realized it she was leaving her last lesson on Saturday. Her last lesson except for Astronomy that was, which was held just before midnight later that day. She still had eleven hours until then though, and so together with Ron and Hermione, they spent a relaxing day exploring the castle and getting thoroughly lost before heading back to Gryffindor tower.

Hermione decided that Professor Quirrell's assignment had been a metaphorical one, and so true to form, began writing an essay on her topic of 'an absence of anything'. Holly wholeheartedly disagreed, mostly because she just didn't want to write an essay. Ron was serving out his detention with whatever punishment Professor Snape had decided to give him and Neville, and so Holly decided to head out alone to find herself a pinecone. A pinecone bigger than her head. How hard could that be?

There was still several hours until curfew so she didn't worry about taking the Invisibility Cloak, although she was already making plans for a night-time exploration of the castle with it. The door at the base of the astronomy tower let her out onto the grounds that were already falling into the shadow of the tall castle. The Forbidden Forest ran away in the distance, tall trees swaying in the chill wind, and dark shadow gathering below their leaves. Beyond that, the evening sun was dipping towards the horizon. Holly guessed that she had about half an hour of light left. She was glad that she had brought her warm Gryffindor scarf and wrapped it tightly as she headed on.

At first, Holly began to just walk along the edge of the trees. It was only the 'Forbidden Forest' if she went _into_ it. Before long it became apparent that she wouldn't be finding any pine cones like this. There wasn't much on the ground - a few twigs here and there but the grass was mostly clear. On top of that, most of the trees at the edge of the forest didn't seem to be pine trees at all.

With a quick glance over her shoulder, she ducked into the trees and began to head deeper. She didn't head far. Just deep enough for the ground to be littered with all sorts of twigs and leaves. Making sure that she could see the edge of the forest and the Hogwarts grounds beyond it, Holly began to walk. It was much darker under the trees, and she had to resort to using her wand for light. It took her a second attempt before she got the 'Lumos' to produce enough light.

The smooth wood of her wand in her palm bolstered her, and she continued on with a little more certainty. She had been walking for about ten minutes, and her mind had begun to wonder. The forest was, to her surprise, perfectly pleasant. The sound of songbirds drifted down from above, and although it was dark under the trees, her eyes adjusted to the light after a few minutes and she could see well enough. It wasn't just the dark shades of brown and black that the forest appears from outside. There were trees with bark that faded from deep red to shimmering orange. Purple and blue mosses covered fallen branches and rocks, and crimson leaves lay littering the forest floor. Each step Holly took caused a satisfying crunch on the springy ground, and there were moths attracted by her wandlight, as big as her hand and bright shades of white and yellow. She was broken out of her pleasant searching by something she had truly not expected.

"Oi, ugly."

Holly whipped around in the direction of the voice but found no one. She aimed her wand-light over the trees ahead of her - was someone hiding behind one of the thicker trunks?

"You got any food or what?"

Sure now of the direction of the voice, she could see no one. The trees there were not thick enough to hide another person either. She caught movement at the base of a tree and focused the light there, in alarm.

"Watch the eyes, that's bright you idiot!"

It was a small brown animal. It looked like a ferret, or…

"So? You got any food on you? Come on speak up, you dumb or something?" The animal said

A Jarvey, she realized. A ferret-like creature that could speak, and particularly enjoyed using the talent to be as rude as possible.

"You're a Jarvey!" Holly said, kneeling down to be closer to the creature's height. She aimed her wand away as well, as it probably had been incredibly bright for the poor thing. "I don't have any food I'm afraid, I could bring you some though."

"No food?" The creature narrowed its eyes at her, "What you here for then, stupid?"

Holly couldn't help but find the little animal entertaining. It may be rude, but it _was_ adorable.

"I'm looking for a pinecone. A big one, bigger than my head," grinning, Holly held her hands to either side of her head as if to demonstrate, "I can bring you some food tomorrow if you help me find one."

"A pinecone bigger than your 'ead? Blimey, you've got a massive noggin. That'd be one big pinecone. What food you got?"

"Uh, I can bring you anything really. Bacon? Toast? I don't really know what you eat."

"Whats that, speccy?" it said, twitching its head to the side.

"Pig."

"Nah I'm a Jarvey, stupid."

"No- Bacon is food from a pig"

"...Pigs good." The Jarvey said, cautiously stepping closer, "I know where pinecones live."

"A pinecone bigger than my head?" Holly asked. This might be the most bizarre conversation she had ever had. She would definitely have to write to Sirius about this.

"I don't know about that… Bigger than my head sure, but your skulls massive, love."

A small pinecone was better than no pinecone, she decided. Holly agreed to bring the little rascal some food in exchange for being shown to a place where she could find pinecones. She followed the Jarvey for a few minutes as he lead a twisting path deeper into the forest. She would occasionally ask questions of her furry guide, not for any particular desire to know the answers, but more for the amusement of the conversation. True to his word, the Jarvey eventually brought her to an area of the forest that was littered with pinecones from a tall tree above. Big pinecones. Not bigger than her head, she admitted, but at bigger than her hand at least. She picked the most impressive one she could find and tucked it into her robe pocket for safe keeping. The Jarvey was watching her but Holly could only guess as to what the expression could mean on such a creature.

"Have you got a name?" My name is Holly."

"That's a plant name, not a people name, stupid."

"It can be a people name too," Holly said defensively.

"Call me Twig then!" 'Twig' made a high-pitched chattering sound which Holly realized must have been a laugh from the small creature.

"Alright Twig. I'll bring you some food tomorrow. Promise!"

"You'd better. You've said it now, ain't no taking it back, not once it's out of your lungs and away in the air!" Twig sat back on his hind legs and raised his head up in the air. "Same place I found you today! See ya ugly!"

Twig turned and bounded off into the trees, laughing. Holly stared after the Jarvey for a good while, simply reflecting on the whole experience. Inexplicably, she liked the rude animal. He _had_ helped her, and on nothing but the good faith that she would return in the morning. She would keep her word of course, if nothing else simply because another conversation with the creature could only put her in a good mood.

She was about halfway back when she head another sound that made her spin around, wand out. It was a crunching, cracking noise, like someone taking a bunch of sticks in their hands and breaking them. She leveled her wand-light and found another student stood a few meters away, in the trees. The girl appeared to be around her age, with a plain face and dark hair.

"Damn! You startled me, what are you doing out here?" Holly let her wand-arm fall back to her side. She did _not_ put her wand away.

"Learning." the girl said simply.

Holly relaxed a little. It was darker now, the sun was probably setting and the shadows of the forest had her on edge. She glanced back towards the edge of the forest. The Hogwarts grounds were within sight again, and she could see the waters of the black lake shimmering beyond the trees. She must have circled most of the grounds in her search if she was facing the lake.

 _Crack, crack, crunch._

Holly turned back to the other girl who had taken a step closer. She was unsure what the noise had been, but perhaps she had broken a branch as she had walked. She was a Gryffindor. Now that she was closer Holly could see that her robes had the same red Hogwarts crest that her own did, and she had a red and gold scarf that matched Holly's own.

"Well anyway, it's late so I'm going to head back. Are you alright out here?" Holly didn't recognize the girl, so she wasn't another first-year. At least a second year or older then, and so probably safer in the forest than Holly had been.

"I'm learning." The girl said again as though that explained everything.

"Right, well I uh... I'll see you around." Holly gave a half wave and the other girl copied her.

She turned back towards the trees and checked that her pinecone was still secure in her pocket. It was. The grounds were still about a minutes walk away and she wanted to get back before it was too late.

 _Craaaaack._

That noise again. Holly looked back over her shoulder at the other girl. She was closer again now. She had a pair of glasses on, similar to Holly's own - had she been wearing glasses before? She was shorter too, as though she had been standing on a rock and had stepped down. Holly took an uncertain step away from the other girl. She had the same distinctly emerald eyes as Holly. The exact same eyes.

"I.. what's going on? Why do you look like me?!"

"I'm learning," Not-Holly said.

Holly felt her jaw fall open in silent horror as she noticed the thin lightning-bolt shaped scar running down the other girls head, perfectly mirroring her own.

"What are you doing," she shouted, "why do you look like me?!"

"Should I not?" Not-Holly asked, tilting her head in confusion.

 _Crack, crunch, craaaaack._

Holly understood now, what the sound was. The other girl's face rippled as the bones under her skin broke and ground against each other. The face morphed slowly into a distinctly different one, skin stretching tight where the bones protruded as they rearranged. The horrible splintering noise that brought bile to the back of Holly's throat subsided with a final _crack._ The now taller, blonde girl, with blue eyes, and no scar or glasses looked at Holly quizzically.

"Is this better?"

Holly screamed and ran. She leaped a fallen log and didn't stop running. She didn't stop when a branch whipped her face and almost dislodged her glasses, she pushed them back onto her face and ran harder. Between the trees, under the branches. Out of the forest and onto the dark lawns of the Hogwarts grounds. She didn't stop, and she didn't dare look behind.

She bolted up the staircase to the main entrance, taking the stairs two at a time and pulled herself inside the heavy doors. Wheeling around to push them shut with all her strength, she didn't want to look, but Holly felt her eyes drawn back the way she had run. Back towards the Forbidden Forest. Back to the line of trees, and the distant blonde figure standing just beyond the first tree-trunks, watching.

The door slammed shut with a satisfyingly deep thump and Holly almost collapsed against them. She was breathing hard, panting short, panicked breaths. She didn't want to know what it was. She wanted to forget. She wanted to not know that there was a _thing_ in the forest. A thing that could take her appearance. A thing that had looked at her - _learned_ from her, she realized.

"Merlin, Black. What the hell is wrong with you?"

For the third time that night, Holly spun around aiming her wand at the unknown voice. She was a state. A small strangely-rational voice in the back of her head thought how ridiculous she must look. Eyes wide in terror, covered in a cold sweat and hair splayed all about her head.

"Mind your own business, Malfoy."

Holly pocketed her wand and brushed her hair away where it was stuck to her forehead. Not the most eloquent comeback - but it would do for now. She tried to put on a calm expression and began to climb the stairs, heading for Gryffindor tower.

"Your face is bleeding," Malfoy called in an indifferent tone, from the bottom of the stairs.

* * *

-Author's Note-

First-week chapters are always a little boring in my mind, and so I tried to keep the lesson descriptions brief. Now that Holly is at Hogwarts the story can progress a little faster. The first touches of something darker in the tone of this chapter and the main plot has already been set in motion. There are hints throughout, although they will likely be difficult to spot for at least a few chapters.

A copy of the first-year Gryffindor timetable can be found linked on my profile for those that wish to see Holly's schedule in detail, it is not, however, vital to understanding the story. In short, the lessons are divided as so:

Per week, Charms, Defence, Potions, and Transfiguration each receive six hours of teaching. Herbology has four, History has three, Flying has two and Astronomy has one.

I've also taken liberties with the curriculum of Hogwarts. Some subjects such as Divination are now electorates for third year onwards - in Divination's case, this is due to a number of things but chiefly because in my head-canon Divination is closely tied to, and requires a basic understanding of, Astrology. In addition to this; Divination is a more specialized branch of Magic and it just fit better as an optional subject. Hogwarts also offers several additional subjects in my story, including; **Artificing** (the creation and enchantment of magical objects), **Healing magic** (pretty self explanatory), and **Rituals** (Using knowledge related to both potions and runes, the type of magic that is used in warding, curse-breaking, and laying spells into a physical location)

Holly will be taking at least one of these for her chosen subjects from third year onwards, but that is far, far in the future.

And finally regarding my personal life. I am currently completing my Masters at University and my free time is exceptionally limited. Once I'm all done and can relax a little more, I'll try to return to weekly or fortnightly chapters.

As always, I appreciate any feedback and thank you for reading.

* * *

 **June Update: I'll be taking a hiatus for a while due to personal issues, I've posted about it on my profile If you wish to know more details.**

 **This story is not abandoned, this story will be finished. I currently have 7 additional chapters written for this first year, and 5 or so more planned. I am not in the right state of mind yet to be editing and publishing them so there will be a delay in updates.**

 **I will continue this, when I am ready.**


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